Innocent man's arrest was unlawful - IPCA

  • 23/06/2016
Innocent man's arrest was unlawful - IPCA

The police have been criticised for unlawfully arresting a former officer who didn't even fit the description of the offender they were looking for.

The Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) says police arrested the man at his Upper Hutt home on January 23 last year.

A police sergeant and a dog handler went to the house looking for a man who'd threatened his ex-partner and rammed her car.

The property they went to belonged to the ex-partner's parents, and her father answered the door. The man, who was a former police dog handler himself, was arrested and handcuffed, despite not looking like the alleged offender they were after.

To add insult to injury, as the dog handler helped the sergeant take the man along the driveway, the dog bit him without being told to.

They took him to the waiting police car before realising they'd arrested the wrong man.

The former officer, called Mr Y in the report, said he was about 24 years younger, four inches shorter and 30kg lighter than the man they were looking for.

IPCA chair Sir David Carruthers says the incident was "stressful and humiliating" for the father.

It found the arrest was unlawful because the sergeant didn't have cause to make the arrest and didn't take the basic steps to identify him.

"As a result of this, both officers used excessive and unlawful force to handcuff the man and remove him from his property."

The dog handler was also criticised for putting his dog in a position where it was able to bite the man.

No prosecution was taken against the sergeant and "in light of personal circumstances", the IPCA believes that was an appropriate decision.

Newshub has contacted police for comment on their reaction to the report.

Newshub.