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Man dies in custody three days after being arrested

Author
NZ Herald,
Publish Date
Wed, 4 Jul 2018, 6:33PM
Police arrested a man in Beresford St, Central Auckland. The man was tasered several times and was taken to hospital where he passed away. Photo / NZME
Police arrested a man in Beresford St, Central Auckland. The man was tasered several times and was taken to hospital where he passed away. Photo / NZME

Man dies in custody three days after being arrested

Author
NZ Herald,
Publish Date
Wed, 4 Jul 2018, 6:33PM

A man has died in custody three days after being arrested and tasered multiple times following an attack on an elderly man.

The man was filmed violently attacking an elderly person in Freemans Bay on Sunday outside a residential address.

The male offender was observed kicking the victim in the head while he lay on the ground unconscious.

Two officers arrived at the scene and were unable to reach the victim as the offender blocked them from treating him.

The police instructed the offender to move away, before he refused and moved towards them.

Auckland City District Commander Superintendent Karyn Malthus said the officers were forced to taser the man.

"Their repeated commands were ignored and the offender lunged towards them before he was tasered multiple times. During the arrest process the offender violently struggled, which required two more back-up officers to assist to apply necessary restraints and a spit hood."

Once the offender was restrained, police staff attended to the elderly victim until paramedics arrived and he was taken to hospital. He remains in a serious condition.

The man was taken to the Auckland Police Custody Unit in an agitated state and police say he continued resisting police efforts to remove restraints.

His condition began to deteriorate while in custody and police were required to perform CPR until an ambulance arrived.

He was taken to hospital and died this morning.

The police do not believe the elderly victim and the offender were known to each other.

Police are engaged with the deceased's family and are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the assault and the death in custody.

More to come.

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