Police not justified in unleashing dog on boy, 14, who led officers on high speed chase - IPCA

May 11, 2021
A K9 police officer with his dog.

It was unjustified for a police dog to bite a 14-year-old boy after he drove his friend's mother's car, the police watchdog has found.

The boy was staying at a friend's house in Cambridge in October 2019 when his friend, referred to as Y, took the silver Volkswagen Golf without her knowledge or permission.

Officers signalled for the vehicle to stop, thinking it was linked to the break-in of another vehicle, the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) noted in a decision today. 

The vehicle did not stop, with a pursuit lasting 18 minutes over about 30 kilometres. 

During the pursuit, the Volkswagen reached speeds of 150 kilometres per hour. 

It ended in a rural area south of Hamilton after the boy and five other occupants of the Volkswagen fled on foot from a dead-end dirt driveway. 

Four young people, including the boy's brother, who had been in the backseat were caught straight away, but the boy and his friend fled into surrounding farmland. 

They were chased through paddocks by an officer and a dog handler. The dog was tracking the boy. 

The IPCA said the dog bit the boy before he was handcuffed and arrested by the officer. 

The boy's friend was caught by another police officer on a nearby road. 

The boy spent two days in hospital after eventually being taken there in an ambulance from the police station. He reportedly was immobile for three weeks and off school. 

He told the IPCA the dog had latched onto him for about four minutes and had bitten "halfway into his shin". 

His mother complained to the IPCA, but police also let the watchdog know about his hospitalisation from the dog bite. 

IPCA chairman Judge Colin Doherty concluded the signal to stop and the boy's arrest were justified, but not the bite. 

He said it was not justified or necessary in the circumstances. 

"The potential offending by Z was not at a level that warranted a Police dog being deployed," Doherty said. 

"The Authority notes that the resulting injury to Z was severe and will have ongoing ramifications for him, especially as he may need skin grafts as he gets older."

He was referred to Youth Aid after being charged with failing to stop, reckless driving and unlawfully taking a motor vehicle. 

Waikato District Commander Superintendent Bruce Bird said police conducted a full review into the incident. 

"In this instance, staff were arresting an offender who had been involved in unlawfully taking a vehicle, fleeing from police and reckless driving," he said.

"These are fast-moving and dynamic situations that require an ongoing risk assessment by the officers involved. In this case Police accept that the IPCA has found the use of a police dog was not appropriate in the circumstances."

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