The Minister of Police Stuart Nash has issued the following statement in response to charges filed against three Police officers this morning in the New Plymouth District Court.
"Any incident involving a loss of life in Police custody is taken very seriously. The charges today reflect the gravity of the circumstances.
"The decision to file charges was made following a Police investigation and independent external legal advice from the New Plymouth Crown Solicitor and a Queens Counsel.
"This will be a difficult time for the victim's family and the wider Police organisation. I extend my sympathies to the man's family.
"It is also important to acknowledge the professional work by a Police investigation team to get to this point. This has been a challenging case to work on and today's court appearance is the result of detailed work behind the scenes.
"The matter is now before the Courts and it would be inappropriate to comment further."
