Three Hāwera police officers had more than two hours to provide medical assistance to a man who would later die in their custody, a court heard today. The officers - who all have name suppression - are charged with manslaughter in relation to the death of Allen Ball. The manslaughter charge relates to the officers allegedly failing to provide the necessities of life, namely medical attention. On arrival at Hāwera Police Station, Ball couldn't be woken by the officers while he was sitting in the back of the patrol car. Officers B and C then opted to "blatantly ignore" an alert that came up on the police NIA system.

Source: Otago Daily Times May 17, 2021 01:41 UTC