When a police dog on a leash savaged Kere Tatana in his own backyard, officers told him he was "in the wrong place at the wrong time". Tatana thinks he was simply the wrong colour.
Police have offered him $1500 compensation for the attack, which left him hospitalised with 50 stitches and nerve damage and forced him to give up rugby league. As a result of his enforced inactivity, Tatana, 32, has gained about 50kg yet in his 20s, he toured England in an Auckland representative league squad with Stacey Jones.
Tatana, who works in information technology, has just learned the statute of limitations means he is out of time to sue for exemplary damages for the 1998 mauling, but his lawyer is now investigating a claim under a Bill of Rights Act section outlawing torture or cruel and degrading treatment.
A Police Complaints Authority investigation concluded the dog handler should have called his dog off immediately he established Tatana was unarmed and posed no threat. The constable was censured for neglect of duty.
Tatana said the officer continued questioning while the dog was clamped on to his leg.
Police had been investigating a reported burglary in the area in which the offenders had fled and a car chase ensued.
Tatana, who was returning to his home in Glendowie, was in his own yard when the dog rounded a corner and attacked him.
AdvertisementAdvertisement"I had my hands up the whole time while this thing was chewing on my leg. And all the time they were asking me my name, what I was doing and why I'd been out."
Tatana, who has never been in trouble with the law apart from a speeding ticket says the incident has shaken his faith in the police.
"I try to be a role model for my nephews, I try to work hard. But what they did was wrong. They said I was in the wrong place at the wrong time I said how could it be the wrong place; it was my own home, but even there I wasn't safe. I think they came after me because I was a brown guy outside. They decided I was a baddie because of my colour."
Tatana's lawyer Rob Harrison said the police offer was derisory, and in recent years, victims of police dog attacks had been awarded as much as $10,000. If the owner had been a civilian, "he would have been would charged and the dog put down."
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