More claims against cop

Alan Douglas, left, and Gareth Needham. Photo / Herald on Sunday

Three men allegedly assaulted by a "renegade" cop claim they were choked, kicked and punched while handcuffed and hog-tied in police custody.

The alleged victims spoke out as two more police officers appeared in court accused of assault while on duty in February.

Gareth John Needham, 38, and Alan Michael Douglas, 32, entered no plea when they appeared before Waitakere District Court on Friday.

They did not apply for name suppression and refused to comment when approached outside court.

Their appearance came eight days after an officer appeared before North Shore District Court charged with assaulting five prisoners between October and January.

He was remanded on bail until his next court date and given name suppression, protecting his rank and the station he worked at.

Last week the Herald on Sunday revealed one of his alleged victims was so badly injured after a knee to the groin he had to have a testicle surgically removed.

This week, three more alleged victims told of their ordeals while in police custody.

A 40-year-old arrested for disorderly behaviour in December claimed he was attacked while trying to speak to a friend in a neighbouring room.

"The officer must have thought I said something to him. He grabbed me by the neck and started strangling me. I didn't understand what was going on, I was concussed," he alleged.

"He held on with both hands for five or six seconds, enough to block my vocal cords. It was sore.

"I can't remember if I was handcuffed at that stage, I wasn't really thinking about where my hands were. I wasn't going to do anything with them anyway, I was in a police station."

He said he spent a week in hospital and could not eat properly after the alleged assault. He still has trouble swallowing and said his voice had been affected.

On the same day a 24-year-old was pulled over and arrested for breaching his bail conditions.

He refused to go into a cell at the police station and resisted when police tried to restrain him.

"The cop who assaulted me grabbed me by my Adam's apple and squeezed really tight. I couldn't breathe ... I had a really sore throat after that," he said. "They ended up getting me down on the ground and that's when he started banging my head on the floor."

A month earlier a 23-year-old was arrested after refusing to leave his ex-girlfriend's house late at night.

He said he "kind of" deserved being arrested but not the treatment that allegedly followed.

"I was in the cell and I was in a bad way. I was drunk and really upset, and I was hurting myself, slamming my head against a concrete wall.

"The cops decided they were going to come in and restrain me and I decided to go at them. As I went towards them he just kicked me in the nuts."

An officer from the Waitemata police professional standards unit contacted the three men earlier this year and told them she was investigating complaints about the accused cop.

It is understood police bosses launched a criminal investigation after some of the officer's colleagues expressed concern about his actions.

The men were told there was CCTV footage of most of the alleged assaults.

A police source said the accused officer was "a good street cop" but "high maintenance".

"He's always had a bit of a shadow around him, being a bit of a renegade, a bit stroppy."

anna.leask@hos.co.nz