Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
The police watchdog report into police actions during the Parliament occupation details serious allegations of violence against protesters, but also refutes a number of narratives which swept the internet.
Complaints of police conduct during the 23 day parliament occupation last year include two incidents where a police officer placed his entire weight on the heads of people as they were being arrested.
Others outline a woman whose sternum was fractured, and another whose teeth were broken with a riot shield.
Claims a young woman was stripped of her clothes by officers during the first attempt to clear protesters were debunked by the Independent Police Conduct Authority.
Nearly a 1000 complaints stemmed from the first attempt to evict protesters on 10 February. Photo: RNZ
Nearly 2000 complaints about officers, but most from people who were not there.
The Independent Police Conduct Authority received nearly 2000 complaints about police actions during last year's 23 day occupation of Parliament.
It descended to a chaotic and fiery conclusion on 2 March.
The watchdog released its more than 200-page report into the police response today, which found officers served the public well in the face of at times "extreme provocation".
Complaints about officers' conduct ranged from allegations of excessive force and illegal eviction to criticism that police failed to act soon enough to prevent the improvised community taking hold on the grounds.
Less than 15 percent of complaints received came from people who were at the protest, and the majority referring to less than 30 incidents widely circulated on social media.
Common themes of those complaints included officers attitudes and language towards protesters and allegations of officers deliberately agitating protesters, issues with property and vehicles being seized and destroyed and officers covering up police ID numbers or refusing to disclose them.
Nearly a thousand complaints stemmed from the first attempt to evict protesters after Speaker Trevor Mallard closed the grounds and trespassed the protesters on the morning of 10 February.
One incident during that day resulted in over four hundred complaints.
A protester seen with milk - something used to cool the effects of pepper spray Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
'The naked girl'
Subsequently known as 'the naked girl', protester Laura Cassin was filmed being dragged through police lines without any clothes and by her hair.
The report outlined an interview with Cassin saying she had deliberately stripped down to her underwear and covered herself with coconut oil in order to be harder to restrain.
A female officer consequently lost their grip on Cassin and was only able to regain control of her by grabbing her hair.
The report found police were unprepared and unequipped to deal with the scale of the protest and the more than 100 people arrested during that day.
Protesters were not adequately warned under the provisions of the Trespass Act 1980 and deficiencies in evidence collection meant that many of the charges stemming from the arrests had to be dropped.
Similar issues would later reoccur during the final operation on 2 March.
Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon
Police eye gouging, punching, kicking, among accusations being investigated
The authority said the majority of complaints were addressed within the analysis and recommendations of the report but 19 complaints would be treated independently with results released at a later date.
Those included an elderly man who was punched in the face, another man who was repeatedly 'hammer punched' and eye gouged, police firing sponge rounds at innocent bystanders and incidents of police kicking and punching protesters resulting in injury, including one person who was restrained at the time.
Preliminary investigations indicated eight of those complaints were likely to be upheld.
Authority chief Judge Colin Doherty said while mistakes had been made, the vast majority of police served the country well in the face of "extreme provocation and violence from some protesters".
"Almost all police officers involved exercised professionalism and restraint in their dealings with the protesters. It is commendable that police were able to end the illegal occupation of parliament grounds with as few injuries and as little damage to property as they did," Judge Doherty said.
Police clash with protesters at the occupation of Parliament. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
Report refutes a number of online narratives
The inquiry was sent more than nine terabytes of raw footage and interviewed nearly four hundred people. Six staff reviewed nearly 14 days worth of footage over a three week period.
Allegations that police used tear gas, agitated protesters with planted plain clothes officers and intentionally covered identification were refuted by the report.
It also found that police had not staged an incident on the 22 February when an individual threatened to use a car to attack police lines and said it was evident that protesters did not attempt to stop the driver of a car that threatened to reverse into police lines on 2 March.
In a statement, Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said the report was aligned with many of the police's own internal reviews of the protest.
He said the event would be regarded as one of the most significant policing challenges in decades.
"The report highlights areas for improvement, including public order policing (POP), planning, command and control, equipment, and health and safety. We have completed a significant amount of work already, such as ordering more equipment, providing staff with more training, and beginning a full review of public order policing," Coster said.
