A colourful life that ended in a Whakatane police cell

Mr De Larratea Soler was originally from Spain.

The death of 43-year-old Francisco Javier De Larratea Soler in Whakatane police cells, apparently drunk, rated only a brief mention in the multitude of national stories before Christmas.

However, the story behind the stark information has emerged - that of a flamboyant Spaniard who travelled the length and breadth of Africa, battled alcohol, drugs and depression, and won people's hearts.

Mr De Larratea Soler's friends and family laid him to rest in Geraldine in South Canterbury on Christmas Eve.

Former partner Suzanne Dent, of Hokitika, said the couple's two children were devastated at losing their father, whom they last saw when he visited four months ago.

"He was a good father - our children are deeply saddened," she said.

Police received reports of an intoxicated man in Eivers Road, Whakatane, on December 19 and picked up Mr De Larratea Soler at 11.30am.

He was found dead during a routine cell check at 7.20pm - nearly eight hours later.

Grant Stanley, a beekeeper who lives at Wairata in the Waioeka Gorge in the eastern Bay of Plenty, met Mr De Larratea Soler in Africa 20 years ago.

He said the Spanish national went to Israel when he was 13 and lived on a kibbutz. Later, he travelled throughout Africa which became his "playground".

"He was a legend in Africa - you could be in Cape Town or Cairo and people would know of him. He was so full of life," Mr Stanley said.

Tragedy struck early, though. His first wife, a New Zealander he met in Egypt, died of malaria four months after they married.

"He had a wild, wild life. I never met a character like him and I was blessed that he was living in the Eastern Bay," Mr Stanley said.

"Women were transfixed by him - they threw themselves at him.

"He had the biggest heart, and he would spend money and give it away flamboyantly."

Ms Dent said she met Mr De Larratea Soler in Zimbabwe and they later bought a backpacker hostel in Cape Town, which they operated for eight years.

She said he would travel to Egypt and Mexico to buy jewellery to sell.

They moved to New Zealand before their second child was born and when they separated he moved to Whakatane to be near Mr Stanley.

"Our children adored him - he was very charismatic, very vibrant. He had a huge smile and when he was healthy he had a fabulous heart. But if he was drinking - none of the above."

She said he had an addiction problem but she had been under the impression he was not drinking "at this point".

Mr Stanley said his friend was "really living for his kids" who were due to visit him for two weeks from January 6.

Mr De Larratea Soler had been disqualified from driving for two years and was excited that he had just passed a drug test that meant he could hold a driver's licence again.

"That was the key to having his children visit him up here and it seems he went out to celebrate."

Mr Stanley said his friend helped him build 300 beehives and had picked up good beekeeping skills.

He had been considering buying 100 hives of his own and becoming an apiarist. He also worked in the kiwifruit industry.

"He battled alcohol and drugs but he was getting his life together," Mr Stanley said.

"He was the biggest character you'd ever meet in your life. He touched people's lives ... he was a beautiful man.

`He suffered a bit from depression every now and then but had just about completely sorted that. He was my best friend."

The Independent Police Conduct Authority is investigating the death, as it was required to whenever someone dies in police custody.

Friends say he should have been taken to hospital, not a police cell.

Whakatane police say they followed standard procedure in placing Mr De Larratea Solero in a cell after he was picked up for being intoxicated.

"I'm upset he was left in the cells and not taken to hospital," Mr Stanley said.

"If he was taken to hospital and had his stomach pumped out, he would be alive today. We are all very upset that he was left alone to die in the cells.

"Had he been left on the street or taken to his home he would have had more chance of a friend or a passer-by calling an ambulance."

Police picked up Mr De Larratea Solero under the Alcohol and Drug Addiction Act, which gives them the power to arrest anyone found grossly intoxicated.

Eastern Bay police area commander Steve Bullock said if intoxicated people were incapable of looking after themselves police could deliver them to a detoxification centre, which Whakatane did not have, or take them to the police station.

Police would take someone home if their address was known and they were capable of looking after themselves. Intoxicated people were removed from the street for their own safety and the safety of others.

Mr Bullock said if someone could walk unaided, even though their speech might be incoherent, they were taken to a cell.

Mr De Larratea Soler, who had been drinking at his home, was incoherent but could walk. Police showed him to a cell, he walked in, lay down and went to sleep.

- NZPA