Prison unit accused of jail assault

A convicted murderer claims Canterbury's Goon Squad beat him and stripped him naked in his cell, performing a "Superman act" while equipped with shields and batons.

Ra Albert O'Dowd is suing the Corrections Department and the Attorney-General for $150,000 in exemplary damages for alleged mistreatment by the prison's emergency response unit on December 19, 1999.

O'Dowd was then an inmate at Paparua Prison, where the unit, known as the Goon Squad, was conducting a night operation.

A squad officer "crashed" his cell with three other members, O'Dowd told the Christchurch District Court yesterday.

To get at O'Dowd first, the fourth member jumped on the toilet and then on the desk, dived over the top of his colleagues and crashed into O'Dowd, flattening him on the floor.

"One did a Superman thing, dived over to get me," O'Dowd said.

All members of the unit were wearing helmets and visors, with some carrying shields and batons. The controversial prison unit, disbanded in June 2000, was the subject of a damning State Services Commission inquiry last month.

O'Dowd claimed the actions of the unit constituted assault. It involved the deliberate use of unjustified force with the intent of intimidation. He claimed the officers knowingly failed to follow rules.

He claimed he had done nothing to provoke an attack.

Crown counsel Gerard Lynch said defence witnesses would show that unit members followed normal control and restraint procedures.

- NZPA