Collins was convicted and ordered to pay the victim $1000 in emotional harm reparation.
Collinsâ counsel, Russell Boot, went on to indicate he would take 28 days for his client to consider appealing the conviction, name and occupation suppression, or all.
However, NZME has confirmed no appeal has been filed.
âI asked him four times for his keysâ
The incident happened on January 10, last year, when Collins was driving an unmarked patrol car north between Te Awamutu and ĆhaupĆ.
As he approached the end of a passing lane, he was overtaken by a motorist, causing him to brake and safely pull in behind him.
Collins immediately activated his flashing lights, and the car pulled into a cemetery driveway about 500m away.
The officer approached the carâs passenger window, and the victim wound it down so they could speak.
Collins asked for his driverâs licence, which was given, and he began carrying out various checks before discovering the licence had expired four months earlier.
The victimâs vehicle also had no current registration or warrant of fitness.
Collins told the victim his licence had expired, that he was now forbidden to drive and asked him to hand over his car keys.
The victim said he didnât understand the reason for handing his keys over and began to question the legitimacy of the demand.
It would later be revealed that Collinsâ demand for the keys was unlawful, which in turn made all of his subsequent actions in using force unlawful.
Collins asked the victim âat least four timesâ for his keys before drawing a can of OC spray and aiming it at the victimâs face, telling him he would be sprayed if he didnât comply or remain stopped.
Sprayed again while suffering âimmenselyâ
The victim removed his keys from the ignition and held his hands up in a surrender position while displaying the keys.
When the constable went to grab them, the victim pulled his hand away, out of reach.
Collins then sprayed him twice in the face, debilitating the victim and causing him irritation, difficulty breathing, a runny nose, pain, a burning sensation and temporary blindness.
As he got out of his car, he dropped his glasses.
Collins then appeared at the front of the car and sprayed the man, who was already suffering âimmenselyâ, a third time.
He then took hold of the victim and placed him over the bonnet of his car and put him in handcuffs, before putting him in his passenger seat.
The victim was then told he had been arrested for disorderly behaviour.
As the officer called for back-up from the communication centre, the victim could be heard in the background shouting in distress.
Collins agreed to release the victim from his handcuffs after he asked to use some baby wipes to wipe his eyes.
About half an hour later, the victim was told he had been forbidden to drive, with the condition not to drive for a further six hours so he could recover from the OC spray.
He was also given a ticket for making an unsafe passing manoeuvre and not displaying a current warrant.
Collins gave him a warning for disorderly behaviour before dropping him off at a bus stop in Te Awamutu.
A tactical option
In an interview with his superior, Collins thought he could legally request the keys; he felt the victim âpresented a risk to the travelling publicâ, and the only tactical option available to him was using the spray.
The superior considered the officerâs conduct âappropriateâ, stating he was âdealing with an aggressive and non-compliant complainantâ.
The judge noted that while Collins did not have any previous convictions, he had previously received a discharge without conviction for an unrelated assault charge.
Judge Cocurullo said, as he understood it, OC spray was used by police to bring an aggressive or non-compliant person under control.
âHere, there seems to have been no defensive position for you to take in the application of the spray.
âThis man had not abused and/or threatened you.
âHe had not, from the restricted position in the driverâs seat of the car, attempted to hit you.
âHe had complied with some of your requests to stop the car and remove keys.
âIt could only be said his non-compliance was that he refused your request to give keys over when you had no basis to do that in any event.â
It was also the first time in Collinsâ police career that he had used OC spray.
Judge Cocurullo said the third delivery of the OC spray was âan option that simply ought not to have been gone toâ.
Police would finalise their employment proceedings once the criminal prosecution had concluded, it was understood.
Belinda Feek is an Open Justice reporter based in Waikato. She has worked at NZME for 10 years and has been a journalist for 21.