Prisoner’s belated claim over duckshooting incident at prison reviewed

A REVIEW has been completed after an Otago prison inmate claimed he was hit in the head by a pellet from an shotgun discharge, fired by an off duty Corrections staffer.

Otago Corrections Facility prison director Dave Miller said an approved duck shooting operation was taking place ‘‘outside of, and some distance to, the prison’’ but had to be stopped when staff inside the prison reported pellets landing on the roof of a residential unit.

The duckshooting activity was being carried out by an offduty staff member, who worked at the prison when the incident happened on June 18, 2020, Mr Miller said.

A review was undertaken after a prisoner presented nursing staff with a small metal fragment the next day, which he claimed to have found on his head while showering.

The man was assessed and treated by a nurse at the time and said that he was feeling well.

The prisoner was in the unit’s yard when the shooting incident happened, but he was wearing a hat and did not report any concerns to staff at the time, Mr Miller said.

Video footage of the incident showed there was no reaction from the prisoners in the yard when pellets hit the nearby roof, but one prisoner was seen picking something up from the ground and passing it to the prisoner who subsequently presented it to nursing staff.

The prison director spoke to the prisoner at the time to assess his welfare, and was assured by the man that he was fine, Mr Miller said.

Prison management got in touch with the man’s family, who were provided with assurance about practices at the prison.

Prior to the incident, duck shooting had taken place on the prison farm without incident for several years, as part of an approved pest control strategy.

‘‘Due to Covid19 and a lack of need this year, duck shooting has not taken place at the prison since 2020,’’ Mr Miller said.

This staff member had gone through a fully vetted process before undertaking the shoot and had been approved to shoot on the land since 2018.

A full safety plan had been submitted to the prison prior to the shoot, Mr Miller said.