A police victims' advocate and a man mistakenly arrested and held at gunpoint by officers are slamming police for the continued lack of a policy to protect victims.
It comes after the New Zealand Police Conduct Association (NZPCA) filed a complaint with the police watchdog (IPCA) in August 2021 about the treatment of victims after police held the wrong person at gunpoint.
The victim, James* (not his real name), told Newshub the lack of concrete policy by police isn't surprising.
"I'm not surprised they still haven't done anything, they didn't care about us, and they don't care how the next person they do this to feels or is treated," James said.
The Government unveiled a near-$600 million major package in May while trying to tackle a rise in crime.
Shannon Parker, who runs the NZPCA, said the new package means a policy is more important than ever.
"I've had updates from the IPCA, but I am yet to hear that police have actually done anything," she told Newshub.
"The result of the latest law and order package is going to be more police staff with guns, yet police still have no policy outlining the minimum standard of care to take in the immediate aftermath of holding the wrong person at gunpoint.
"Damage has already been caused by this failure, yet police don't appear to be in any rush to prevent this from occurring again," she said.
The IPCA confirmed to Newshub in a statement it has not asked police to review their policy but are working with them on their response to affected people. This work is ongoing with police.
In a statement, police said it didn't see any need for a policy.
"Police have not currently identified the need for a stand-alone policy which specifies support required for a person mistakenly detained by armed police," a spokesperson said. "Police do acknowledge that any such incident is distressing for those involved and they are managed on a case-by-case basis with support services utilised as required.
"These incidents are not common and generally occur during events that are dynamic, fast-paced and involve threats to the community or police."
The Incidents
In the past 19 months, police officers have held the wrong person at gunpoint three times, Parker said. In November 2020, two innocent teenagers were held at gunpoint by officers while relaxing in a park. It left them "extremely traumatised" and prompted a police apology.
The pair - a 17-year-old boy and his 16-year-old girlfriend - were in Mander Park in Whangārei when officers swarmed the area in search of an armed offender who had shot at police that morning.
Northland District Commander Supt Tony Hill said at the time one of them had a hoodie over their head and their face was not visible but he said they matched the physical descriptions of the person being sought by police.
Just two months later, in January 2021, Brandon Moase and *James, the man Newshub spoke to, were mistakenly arrested at gunpoint with Moase's 1-year-old in the car.
Minutes later, the police officers realised they had arrested the wrong people.
In the days after the mistaken arrest, Waitematā District Commander Superintendent Naila Hassan organised to meet with the men. But after listening to what they had to say, James was left mortified by Superintendent Hassan's response.
"She tried to offer us movie tickets and food vouchers after we'd just sat there for 10 minutes telling her how traumatised and shocked we were," he said.
"I just felt like I'd been completely swept under the rug. It didn't matter what had happened to us or what our feelings were. It felt more like she was just trying to make her men look good."
Police eventually arrested the offender and his associate in Glenmall Place in Glen Eden. Police said Moase and *James were apologised to.
"At the time, it was believed they were connected to the incident and they were detained. Further enquiries determined they were not involved and they were subsequently released, police apologised to the two men. Victim support referrals were also made," Hill told Newshub.
In August 2021, Timothee Matariki was arriving at his Māngere East home when suddenly armed police swarmed his back door. The officers told him to put his hands up while pointing their guns at him.
Matariki told reporters he was in handcuffs for an hour while he protested his innocence before being let go by police.
It came after multiple shots had been fired at an address nearby.
Police said it was an extremely fast moving incident, where there was a serious risk to the community and officers.
"Police have already been in contact with the man directly and apologised to him for any distress caused during this incident. However, our staff were acting with the best of intentions to ensure our community was safe. The man has also been referred to Victim Support," Det Insp Kevin McNaughton told Newshub.
Policy
Parker told Newshub the minimum standard of care in the immediate aftermath of these events needs to be urgently implemented.
"At a minimum, leave the person with victim support phone number and a business card with the district's command centre phone number so the person can contact that police district easily if they have questions and organise their own support.
"If they have time to arm themselves, they have time to put a couple of cards in their pocket.
"Higher level support would be to dispatch a senior officer to the scene to support the person and supply contact information."
Parker said anything would be better than nothing.
*James is not his real name.
