One of the other officers who was present the night Allen Ball died in custody has given evidence at the High Court in New Plymouth.
Fifty-five-year-old Allen Ball died in the cells at the Hāwera Police station on June 1, 2019. It's alleged three officers were grossly negligent in their duty of care after arresting Ball following a family harm incident.
In court on Wednesday, Constable Ben Patterson admitted he wouldn't have taken Ball to hospital that night.
But the court also heard that Patterson wasn't aware Ball had failed to respond to pain compliance techniques designed to wake him up, which had allegedly been conducted by two of the defendants.
Crown prosecutor Cherie Clarke asked Constable Patterson: "When someone does not respond to pain techniques, what’s the usual course of action?"
Constable Patterson responded: "Call for an ambulance."
Ball was arrested following a family harm incident and died in the cells in the early hours of June 1, 2019. The court has heard he had consumed at least a litre of bourbon and was unresponsive as six people carried him into the Hawera Police Station.
The defence says the three officers thought Ball was simply "sleeping it off". But the Crown says he would have survived if the officers had arranged the appropriate medical care.
"Each are guilty of contributing to his death," Crown prosecutor Cherie Clarke told the High Court.
Both Constable Patterson and Senior Sergeant Kyle Davie, who worked with the three defendants, have told the court the three officers were well-respected and trusted among staff and the wider community.
