In the period since the trial began on 1 September 2006 to 12 August 2007 there have been a total of 120 incidents involving the taser. The taser was discharged on 19 occasions. Since the last update - 10 June 07 - there have been 21 incidents where the taser has been involved.
Tuesday 15 June - Police were called to a house in Mangere where a man armed with a knife was threatening the occupants. As a precaution the officer deholstered the taser as he approached the house. Female occupants said the man had fled. He was located asleep in a car outside the address. When asked to get out of the car he was fully cooperative.
Monday 18 June - An aggressive call to a Wainuiomata house known as a high priority for the large number of previous domestic violence incidents alerted Police. On arrival Police were met in the driveway by a man who was aggressive and intoxicated. He refused to comply with Police requests and as his hands were hidden in his jacket it was though it may conceal a weapon. The taser was deholstered and the man was warned. He turned and ran back towards the house. Police caught him before he reached the house and again warned him and laser painted him. He was handcuffed and taken to the police car. Once inside he again became aggressive, kicking out and damaging the car. he was warned spray would be used. He did not comply and was pepper sprayed. Aftercare for the spray was given shortly after.
Friday 22 June - A man was acting violently and threatening the family in a house in Glenn Innes. The family fled the house. The man was known to be violent and disliked the police. As Police approached the house they called on the man to come out. He was warned and laser painted and was aware the taser was pointed at him. Although he continued to act aggressively towards police he complied with their requests.
Saturday 23 June - A man was seen to wave what appeared to be a pistol at people in the Wellington CBD. The man was located, the officer deholstered the taser and pointed it at the man as he was being followed down the street. Other officers took the man by surprise, secured him and took him into custody. The weapon turned out to be an imitation pistol.
Sunday 24 June - The member of a Henderson family reported that a brother was threatening to kill him with a knife. The informant met police at the roadside advising the brother was still inside with the knife but no one else was present. The brother was known to police, was on active charges and police had attended violent incidents at the house in the past.
Police called for the man to come forward from a bedroom. He was warned and laser painted. He cooperated with all directions. The knife was located on the kitchen bench.
Sunday 24 June - A highly intoxicated man was threatening members of his family at an address in Manurewa. The son-in-law has tried to take the knife from the man and received a cut to his hand. When police arrived the man was in a bedroom still in possession of a fishing knife. He refused to put the knife down and threatened to stab the officers on several occasions despite continual requests from the officers to comply. An officer drew the taser and warned the man who still would not drop the knife. Following a third warning the officer discharged the taser. The man fell backwards onto the bed. He was handcuffed and aftercare was administered. There were no injuries.
Monday 25 June - Police received a call that two people were attempting a burglary in Northcote. Police found the offenders trapped inside a garage with only two exits. One was the garage door, which was locked. The other was a window at chest height and difficult to enter. The two people became verbally and physically aggressive and would not come out of the garage. One was holding an iron bar and a shard of glass from the window he had broken.
Negotiation proved unsuccessful and the occupants had been sprayed twice and were still uncooperative. The decision was made to deploy the taser through the window at the male offender. The initially discharge caused the man to fall to the ground and then he attempted to regain his feet before officers could gain entry. The taser was again discharged providing sufficient opportunity for officers to enter and secure the man.
Aftercare was given and the man was subsequently examined at the North Shore Policing Centre and was found not to be suffering any ill-effects. The other offender was female who cooperated with police.
Saturday 30 June - Police were called to a Titahi Bay address where a man was drunk and refused to leave. He was aggressive and hostile towards police. When asked to lease the address he refused and said the only way he would was if police came in and took him. After an attempt to coax him out of the house he disappeared and was heard opening drawers in the kitchen. He re-emerged with two large knives in his right hand. Police assistance was called for. After a few minutes the man came out the front door with his mother and walked towards police.
The officer drew the taser, issued the warning and laser painted the man who stopped and complied with police requests.
Monday 2 July - A man entered a firearms retail store in Penrose. He was in possession of a hunting knife and threatened people in the store. A police dog handler and dog arrived and challenged the man. The officer deployed pepper spray to no effect. An officer armed with a taser arrived and presented the taser and issued a warning. The man moved quickly behind a shelving unit still holding the knife. As he was getting closer to other police officers the officer discharged the taser and the man fell to the ground and was handcuffed. There were no injuries to him or any one involved.
Friday 13 July - Police were called by staff at a mental health unit to assist in dealing with a man with a history of mental illness who refused to take his medication. He became hostile and grabbed a pair of scissors and threatened staff. Staff contained the man until police arrived. By then the man had locked himself in a toilet while still in possession of the scissors. Police took over thirty minutes to try to talk the man into coming out. He suddenly opened the door, rushed out then stood still. Police laser painted him and told him to drop the scissors which he did immediately when he saw the red dot on his chest. He was handcuffed without further incident.
Monday 16 July - Police were called to domestic incident involving a man with a long history of violence and known to carry a knife. He was tracked for approximately two kilometres and located in a dark property. A police dog and the taser were deployed and the man complied with instructions.
Friday 20 July - Police had been advised a group of males had threatened another group of males in a Porirua street. An officer armed with a taser attended and approached the group believed to have been involved. The officer appealed to the group to stay where they were. A member of the group was heard to say "Whatever" and the group continued to move towards the officer. Fearing for his safety the officer drew the taser and pointed it at the ground in front of the group so they could see the laser red dot.
The group were warned and told that the officer believed one of them was in possession of a knife. The group immediately became cooperative and stayed where they were until other units arrived.
Sunday 22 July - A man involved in a high speed pursuit left the vehicle after it was stopped. The man was wanted and believed to be armed. The man was located at a Glenfield address and when challenged disappeared behind the house towards an officer armed with a taser who presented the taser and told him to raise his hands. This he did and he was handcuffed safely.
Monday 23 July - Police were called after a series of incidents in Avondale involving a man who suffered from a mental disorder had threatened to kill residents of a caravan park.
Police found the man standing in his caravan with the door open. The man refused to come out despite several repeated appeals to do so. He was in an aggressive state. He challenged police to "come and get me" before eventually coming to the door reaching out and slamming it shut.
An officer forced open the door, pointed the taser at the man and gave the standard warning. He refused to comply, at which point he was laser painted and demanded to come out of the caravan. He calmed down and came to the door asking why police wanted to speak to him. The taser was lowered. It was explained why police had been called by mental health staff. He still refused to come out so was pepper sprayed. He was assessed by the DAO and admitted to the Auckland Hospital Acute Psychiatric Unit.
Thursday 26 July - A serious assault had occurred at a Bombay service station. A man had used a hammer to assault a female and then along with another female had had left in a heavy truck.
The truck was stopped by an officer on Roscommon Road. The officer drove ahead to block the truck, he then went to the driver's door with the taser in the de-holstered position but hidden from view. He called on the driver to get out which he did. No one else was in the cab. The driver said he'd given a ride to a man and a woman whom he did not know and dropped them off at Ramarama.
Saturday 28 July - Police received a report that a man involved in a domestic incident had assaulted a baby and a female before leaving a New Lyn address in a vehicle with the female victim. He was stopped by police. He had a knife at the victim's throat and was threatening to kill her. The officer with a taser and other officers approached the vehicle from behind. On getting close enough the officer discharged the taser enabling the other officers to disarm him and gain control.
Sunday 29 July - Police were called to a Massy address by a female after she had been assaulted by her male partner. She managed to jam the hall door to stop the man getting to her. On arrival police entered through the front door opened by the woman. The man was found in the bedroom with his right hand under the bedclothes. He was told to stand up. He refused and was threatening and abusive to Police. The taser was presented and he was laser painted. He was again told to stand up and put his hands behind his back. He was handcuffed and arrested on outstanding warrants for his arrest.
Saturday 4 August - A man in Titahi Bay was threatening family members with a knife. Police approached the man and he was directed to show his hands and move out into the open.
The taser was presented, he was warned and laser painted until he complied with police requests.
Sunday 5 August - Police were called to the Auckland suburb of Sandringham to deal with a man armed with a crowbar and an ignited handheld blow torch. He was in an agitated state and threatened Police that if they came past the front gate he would jump into his car and run them down.
Officers engaged him in negotiations while an officer armed with a taser went through a neighbouring property to get behind the man. The man approached the gate, placed the blow torch on the ground all the while being spoken to by other officers. The taser was presented and the man was laser painted. He was taken into custody without further incident.
Sunday 12 August - Reports of youths fighting and chasing each other with weapons in Glendene was attended by police. A call was received for attendance by an officer with a taser.
On arrival the officer found two officers struggling with a large youth in the front door of the house. He drew the taser and issued the warning for the youth to stop struggling. The youth, a member of a street gang, saw the laser spot on his chest and immediately complied with instructions.
ENDS