KEY POINTS:
A post mortem examination of a 47-year-old man who died while police were handcuffing him found he suffered a heart attack.
Police were called to the Napier suburb of Maraenui on Monday afternoon, when one of the people who lived there said the man was smashing up their house.
The dead man, Collin Wirimu Martin, also lived at the house.
When police officers arrived, they found two of the man's family members restraining him on the floor.
As they were cuffing him, officers found he was unresponsive.
They tried to unsuccessfully to revive him, until ambulance officers arrived.
Police said today the Mr Martin died from natural causes and the matter had been referred to the coroner.
The death is also subject to an investigation by the Police Complaints Authority.
- NZPA
