The Independent Police Conduct Authority has found that Police were justified in using a Police dog to arrest a man between Rotorua and Taupō on 24 April 2021.
Police observed a car being driven in the Rotorua region that had been stolen the day before in Auckland. At 3.35am a dog handler found the car stopped about twenty kilometres south of Rotorua on State Highway one. When the dog handler stopped behind the vehicle the male driver got out and walked towards him. The dog handler told the man he was under arrest.
The man then became assaultive and resisted arrest, which led to a violent struggle between him and the dog handler and Police dog, which lasted nearly five minutes before Police assistance arrived.
The man suffered dog bite injuries which required surgery and Police later advised the Authority of the incident.
