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The police watchdog has cleared an officer of any wrongdoing after a woman claimed he choked and unfairly arrested her.
She was charged with obstruction and resisting arrest last year, after she intervened as police tried to question a dozen young men who had reportedly been fighting in the Freyberg Pool carpark in Wellington.
Four police officers responded to a 111 call at 7pm on 14 October, and spoke with members of the group to establish what had happened.
The woman approached one of the officers, saying she had been in the carpark and did not believe the group had done anything wrong. She repeatedly questioned the police's presence, ignoring at least three warnings, and moved closer to the officer while he attempted to speak to the young men.
The woman was subsequently arrested for obstruction and said, once in the patrol car, the officer choked her by holding her neck against the window with his forearm.
The Independent Police Conduct Authority [IPCA] found the arrest was justified, because the officer reasonably believed the woman's actions were preventing him from executing his duty.
The "low-level" force used on the woman during and following her arrest was also reasonable and proportionate, given the her level of resistance, it said.
The IPCA said it accepted the officer put his forearm against her ear in self-defence, so as to direct her head away from him, because he believed the woman was about to spit on him.
Authority chair Judge Kenneth Johnston KC said the level of force used was justified.
"By all accounts, including her own, the woman was in a highly agitated state. We accept the officer's evidence as to the nature of the force he employed, and in our assessment this was proportionate and reasonable in the circumstances as he believed them to be."
The police have acknowledged the IPCA's findings, and reiterated that the officer used his forearm on the woman in self-defence.
Wellington district commander superintendent Corrie Parnell said officers went to work everyday to keep the public safe.
"It's important they keep themselves safe while they do this," he said.
"We trust our officers to make the best decisions in these situations to ensure safety is at the forefront of everything we do."
