Police – Pepper Spray

Oral Question 5.

KEITH LOCKE (Green) to the Minister of Police:

Has she received any reports that the police are inappropriately using pepper spray; if so, what action does she plan to take?

Hon ANNETTE KING (Minister of Police): I sought and received an oral briefing from the Commissioner of Police regarding an incident on Thursday, 4 May outside the Fight for Life in Auckland. The commissioner informed me that the following actions have occurred: the incident is under investigation by the North Shore district commander as to the appropriateness of the officer’s action; secondly, the Independent Police Complaints Authority has been advised; and, thirdly, the commissioner will ask district commanders to ensure that the protocols for the use of pepper spray are clearly set out again in the annual refresher training, which forms part of the national training programme.

Keith Locke: Does the Minister think there is a legitimate policing reason for pepper spraying a man who is handcuffed and helpless on the ground, or, later, when he is in the back of a police van; if so, what is that legitimate policing reason?

Hon ANNETTE KING: In a case like that, in line with the protocols for the use of pepper spray it would not be appropriate. I will await the outcome of the inquiry to see whether the actions that the officer took on that occasion were appropriate.

Martin Gallagher: Has the Minister seen any reports on the number of assaults on police over the past few years?

Hon ANNETTE KING: Yes, I have seen a report on the number of assaults on police. I am pleased to say that the number of assaults on police has declined since pepper spray was introduced. The commissioner explained to me that when he was a front-line officer, the way one dealt with people who were causing a problem was to go in either with a baton or with fists. That is not appropriate in this day and age. In fact, the use of pepper spray has been a very important tool in being able to apprehend people who are violent or causing injury either to the police or to the public.

Keith Locke: Is the Minister confident that all of the 2,000 uses of pepper spray last year met the requirements of the police general instructions to use it only when police “fear physical injury to themselves or others and they cannot reasonably protect themselves less forcefully”, and will the latest shocking, televised incident provoke her to announce a more general inquiry into the police use of pepper spray; if not, why not?

Hon ANNETTE KING: I have no evidence to show that there is a systemic problem in terms of the use of pepper spray. However, I would say that of the total number of apprehensions by the police last year, 1 percent of those cases involved pepper spray.

Keith Locke: Why, then, does the Minister think that a police force that, on the evidence of the 2,000 cases, cannot be trusted to use pepper spray according to police general instructions can be trusted to go ahead with a trial of the 50,000-volt Taser gun, and will she be deferring that Taser gun trial until we are sure that the police do act according to instructions?

Hon ANNETTE KING: I repeat that I have no evidence to show that the New Zealand Police have a problem in terms of the use of pepper spray. That is not to say there are not individual officers who may inappropriately use pepper spray, but I have no reason to believe that the police do not, in the majority of cases, act responsibly.

Hone Harawira: What response has the Minister to reports from Amnesty International that within the last few years at least nine people in Canada and over 60 in the United States have died after being shocked with a Taser stun gun, which causes the instant incapacitation of the target by delivering a 50,000-volt electric shock; and will police be given the same freedom to use Taser guns as they have to use pepper spray as been highlighted by the media over the past few days?

Hon ANNETTE KING: In response to the second part of the member’s question, no. In response to the first part of the question, yes, I have seen those reports, but I am also aware of the assessments of Tasers by other jurisdictions similar to New Zealand that show that the operational and public safety of Tasers outweighs the potential medical risks. That is for both the people being apprehended and the public.

Hone Harawira: Following on from the question from Mr Gallagher, has the Minister seen any reports of assaults on the police by people lying flat on their backs on the ground with their hands behind their backs in handcuffs?

Hon ANNETTE KING: No, I certainly have not.

Keith Locke: I seek leave to table a copy of the section of the police general instructions stating that pepper spray should be used only when police fear physical injury.

Madam SPEAKER: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is objection.

Keith Locke: I seek leave to table a judgment by Judge Weir dated 17 August 2005, where he expressed real concern over the misuse of pepper spray in a Rotorua case recently.

Leave granted.

Keith Locke: I seek leave to table a press release by Global Peace and Justice Auckland, reporting on the case of Simon Oosterman, who was pepper sprayed in a Rotorua protest — the one that Judge Weir referred to.

Madam SPEAKER: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is objection.

Keith Locke: I seek leave to table a press clipping from today’s New Zealand Herald headed “Broader probe urged into pepper spray case”, which details the shocking incident last Thursday.

Madam SPEAKER: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? Yes, there is.

Hone Harawira: I seek leave to table the Amnesty International report that examines Taser gun use by law enforcement agencies, that finds a rising death toll and rising human rights abuses, ill-treatment, and torture, and that was released on Tuesday, 30 November 2004.

Madam SPEAKER: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is objection.