Friday, April 14, 2023



There's a name for this

In December 2021, a police arrest in Levin put a man in a coma. He died in hospital the next day. The Independent Police Conduct Authority has finally released its report on the death, and it is damning:

A new report by the Independent Police Conduct Authority found a police officer used a dangerous technique to restrain Peter Boy Tuhi in December 2021.

The “unreasonable” use of force by the Levin police officer led to Tuhi hitting his head on the ground and he later died at Wellington Hospital as a result.

[...]

The report found the technique chosen by the officer was not taught at the Royal New Zealand Police College.

“The force used was disproportionate and unreasonable given the level of resistance and risk posed by Mr Tuhi.”

The report does not suggest that there was any intent to kill. But still: the use of disproportionate and unreasonable (and therefore unlawful) force which unintentionally results in death has a name: it is called "manslaughter". And this officer needs to be prosecuted for it. Otherwise the police are nothing but a gang of uniformed killers.