A trip to the pub took a deadly turn, when a police arrest resulted in the death of a 65-year-old man.

Peter Tuhi went for a drink at Tony's Place in Levin, later becoming aggressive during a fracas in a nearby carpark.

A dangerous takedown manoeuvre from police during his arrest led to Tuhi's death.

Coroner Heather McKenzie has pieced the narrative together from CCTV footage, and reports from both the police and Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA).

Tuhi was a rural fencing contractor from Otaki, where he had lived since the age of 19.

He had industrial deafness from using chainsaws over a long period of time, and would use sign language or lip read, the coroner said.

"Mr Tuhi wore his hearing aids less and less, and rarely wore them at all in the period before his death," McKenzie said. "This worsened his tolerance for needing to speak with people."

At about 11am on 21 December, 2021, Tuhi parked by the Cosmopolitan Club, walking around the corner to another bar, Tony's Place.

While there, Tuhi drank with regulars for about four hours. He told one patron he'd been drinking since four o'clock in the morning 4am, the coroner said.

Tuhi suddenly slid off his seat and fell backwards.

Coroner McKenzie noted Tuhi's daughter had told police he was "rarely" affected by alcohol, although at times he could lose his balance.

He was asked to leave the pub, with staff offering to call Tuhi a taxi, which he declined.

Instead, he opted to walk back to where he'd parked by the Cosmopolitan Club.

At the same time, another couple drove into the carpark, stopping two spaces away from Tuhi. The woman went in to visit someone, while the man stayed in the car.

The coroner said Tuhi approached their vehicle, shouting obscenities, before trying to enter the car.

A staff member from the Cosmopolitan Club came out, after the man phoned for help, and asked him to leave, then called the police.

Concerned for his own safety, the man inside the car got out to stand with the club staffer. Tuhi charged at him, grabbing his upper right arm.

"Mr Tuhi ripped [the man's] t-shirt and a scuffle ensued," McKenzie said. "Mr Tuhi was described as 'highly intoxicated and aggressive... he was all over the place'."

Police arrived as Tuhi was trying to leave the carpark in his vehicle. The police officer parked in front of Tuhi's car to stop him.

"[The officer] tried to discuss what had happened, but could not understand what Mr Tuhi was saying," the coroner said. "He did not know he was hearing impaired."

The officer, referred to as Officer A in the coroner's findings, said Tuhi became "quite aggressive and argumentative".

He took Tuhi's carkeys and moved over to the man to figure out what had happened.

Tuhi approached, yelling and pointing at the man.

"Officer A said that Mr Tuhi 'had a look in his eyes of, like he was furious or very angry'," McKenzie said.

The coroner said Tuhi went to attack the man, with the officer moving in between them.

"Mr Tuhi pushed Officer A in the chest with both hands, grabbing his police vest and causing him to move backwards a step to regain balance," she said.

"Mr Tuhi pushed Officer A again and then tried to walk around him to get to [the man]."

The officer reached for his handcuffs and told Tuhi he was under arrest for assault, the coroner said. After the first handcuff was put on, Tuhi resisted.

He kept turning away from the officer to look back at the man, pointing with his free arm. The officer tried and failed to get Tuhi on the ground.

The IPCA described what happened next.

"Officer A took a brief moment to re-adjust himself, crouching in a low position and looping his right arm around Mr Tuhi's left thigh. He then pulled Mr Tuhi's leg backwards and upwards, lifting Mr Tuhi."

Tuhi fell, both feet leaving the ground, and hit the asphalt headfirst.

The IPCA report described the motion like a rugby "spear-tackle".

The man had tried to grab Tuhi to stop his fall, but was unable to grip him firmly enough, it said.

Tuhi was unresponsive and the second handcuff was put on.

However, the police officer noticed blood on the ground. He took both handcuffs off and called for an ambulance.

St John arrived to find Tuhi unconscious, with his eyes open. He had a cut on his forehead, and his breathing was shallow, short and irregular, the coroner said.

He was taken to Wellington hospital, where he died the next day.

A forensic pathologist found Tuhi died from the complications of blunt trauma to the head and neck, with a cervical spine fracture and spinal cord injury.

Police investigated what happened, but found no evidence of excess force or improper conduct. The IPCA also found the officer was justified in taking Tuhi to the ground, but noted he used a dangerous technique.

"The use of force was disproportionate and unreasonable, given the level of resistance and risk posed by Mr Tuhi," it said.

Coroner McKenzie said police had refreshed their recruit programme in 2023, including an update to the defensive tactics training package.

She said this was done as part of general training improvements, rather than a direct response to Tuhi's death.

Coroner McKenzie made no further recommendations, noting the changes police had already made and the IPCA's recommendation of more in-depth training in taking people to the ground.

Tuhi was "a gentle person" - family

Tuhi's daughter had told police he was a gentle person, who never started fights.

She said he was "always there for other people".

His daughter believed others may have misinterpreted Tuhi's deafness for rudeness.

"Mr Tuhi could compensate by talking a lot louder than normal," coroner McKenzie said. "He could be difficult to understand, due to mumbling as a result of his deafness."

The family felt very strongly that single-leg takedowns should be banned, the coroner said, but found no evidence to recommend a ban.

They had also asked the coroner to order a criminal or employment investigation independent of police, something coroner McKenzie said she could not do.