Complaints dry up on Taser stun guns

There were three complaints against Tasers in 2008, the year they were introduced. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Despite controversy over arming the police with Taser stun guns, the Independent Police Conduct Authority says there have been no complaints about their use in the past 18 months.

Authority chairwoman Justice Lowell Goddard also told Parliament's law and order select committee yesterday Tasers were used in 124 incidents during 2009 and were fired nine times.

There had been three complaints before July 2008, but none since. Tasers were introduced in 2008.

But while police provided information about Tasers, they were not required to do so, she said.

The authority considers about 2000 complaints a year against police and oversees their conduct.

Justice Goddard said the authority would complete working through the backlog of historic cases by June. There had been 1611 cases in 2007, 211 in 2008 and 15 remain.

The authority has released 11 reports during 2008-09 and nine more since then, and a number of high-profile reports would soon be completed and released. These include:

* The fatal shooting of Halatau Naitoko, the 17-year-old Auckland courier driver shot by police during the pursuit of Stephen Hohepa McDonald.

* The fatal shooting of Lee Jane Mettam by police at Whangarei in October 2008.

* The fatal shooting of Shayne Richard Sime in Christchurch in June.

* The death of 16-year-old Wiri Wilson after he was hit by a police car on a highway in Northland last July.

* The injury shooting of Robert Mokaraka, also last July.

* The so-called terror raids in Ruatoki.

* The Sounds murder investigation into the deaths of Ben Smart and Olivia Hope.

* The police response to shooting of liquor store owner Navtej Singh in June 2008.

The authority was also investigating allegations of inadequacy in police investigations of three historic homicides, reviewing deaths in police custody in the past three years, and holding an inquiry into police mismanagement of child abuse claims.

Justice Goddard said the authority had also made recommendations around police high speed pursuits "to give officers much more guidance about the judgment call they have to make in a very short time frame about commencing and then continuing a pursuit".