A police officer repeatedly used excessive force on a mentally ill man in custody and did not help the man get medical attention for a head injury.
The police officer also failed to point out that he had "used force" on a person. File photo Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
The police officer will not face any charges and will instead undergo an "employment pathway". The police did not elaborate on what this entails.
An Independent Police Conduct Authority summary shows the officer used "unnecessary and excessive force when moving the man between cells" on multiple occasions.
The officer also failed to note that he had "used force" on a person, which must be notified.
Additionally, the officer "did not organise medical attention for a head injury the detained man sustained while in custody".
The police decided that the officer should not face any criminal charges, but instead the matter is being dealt with through an "employment pathway".
In response to RNZ, the police said: "Police acknowledges the IPCA summary released in relation to force used against a man in police custody in the Bay of Plenty.
"As an employment process is ongoing police is unable to respond to any queries at this time."
In another summary, a police officer was investigated for allegedly assaulting a female in her home on two occasions, but the assaults could not be substantiated.
Police and the IPCA said the allegations did not meet the threshold to lay charges.
"The police investigation... found [the actions] fell outside police's values and expectations as an organisation," the summary said.
"The assaults could not be substantiated and therefore did not meet the threshold to lay criminal charges," the IPCA said.
"The reference to 'falling outside police values' does not relate to the alleged assaults, but rather to peripheral behaviour that did not meet police values or expectations [in an employment sense]."
*This story was updated with clarification from the Independent Police Conduct Authority.
