Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
The police watchdog has found an officer in Auckland was unjustified in punching a man in the head three times during an arrest two-years ago.
Officers were called to the man's property in the small town of Waimauku, North of Auckland, at about 10pm in December 2022, after he was heard "going crazy".
Police found the man drunk, walking along the shoulder of State Highway 16.
He moved his body and arm around, which officers saw as an attempt to hit them while they tried to lead him off the road.
He was tackled to the ground by one of the attending officers before being arrested for assault.
Once back at the patrol car, the man headbutted the window and spat at the officers who tackled him.
The officer punched him in the jaw three times.
The Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) found it plausible that the man was trying to break the officer's grip on him, rather than deliberately trying to hit him as they led him off the road.
However, they said the man's arrest was lawful, as the officers genuinely and reasonably believed he had attempted to hit them.
The IPCA found punching the man was a disproportionate and excessive use of force, and that the officer who did so could have used less forceful options.