'They didn't give him any option': New Zealand Police officer is filmed holding a man on ground and punching him repeatedly in the head

The victim was a Maori -- who can be aggressive -- so the cop may have intended to subdue any opposition

A police officer in Napier, New Zealand, has been filmed punching a man in the head during an arrest in the city's KFC car park.

One witness who saw the arrest said the arrested man got out of the car without causing any trouble at all. He was then restrained by police by putting his hands behind his back and pushed to the ground, where he was punched in the head by a police officer, the witness said.

Another witness said that police 'didn't give him any option, they didn't even try to talk calmly.'

But Stuff.com reports that Luke Shadbolt, vice-president of officers' union the Police Association, said the officers had done nothing wrong.

'What [this incident] looks like is police officers going about an incident that occurs on a daily basis throughout New Zealand where we're dealing with violent or unco-operative offenders and have to use pepper spray or other tactical options to get then under control,' Mr Shadbolt said.

'That incident is probably significantly longer than what is shown in the post on Facebook. It's important that when people view this type of footage they bear in mind that it's often been very selective... Often the full context of a situation is missed.'

However, the woman who shot the video was adamant the man was punched.

She said it was a punch with 'a clenched fist'. Another woman tried to intervene and was also arrested. A younger woman who had been in the car with the man also got pushed to the ground during the scuffle.

A police statement said they tried to get the man's keys from the car, but family members got in the way and refused to let them take the keys of the vehicle.

These people also became violent and were arrested during the incident. All four will now face multiple charges.

Police said that they will be taking a look at what happened as 'part of normal procedure when force is used at an incident.'

However, the woman who filmed the incident said the man looked 'confused', but 'co-operative' with police officers during the incident.

Original report here



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