Police acknowledge the Independent Police Conduct Authority’s findings into the use of a Police dog during an arrest of two youths in Gisborne last year.
The authority found the deployment of the Police dog by its handler was lawful and reasonable under the circumstances.
In this instance, Police were notified of a car stolen in Gisborne and located the vehicle at an isolated road.
The dog handler tracked the youths through an isolated rural area and deployed the dog to stop one of the offenders from decamping and both offenders were arrested.
Police agree with the IPCA's findings, which has found the use of a police dog was justified.
The actions of officers and the tactical options used to locate, mitigate risk and safely apprehend the offender were professional, consistent with relative policy and appropriate for the circumstances.
Police also agree with the IPCA's findings that the staff member who took a complaint about the incident did not deliberately discourage the complaint from being laid. Police believe this officer acted appropriately.
ENDS
Issued by the Police Media Centre