Soldier seen 'spinning, crashing into walls'

10:28 pm on 11 May 2016

A soldier could be seen spinning around, crashing into walls and eventually restrained in a video submitted as evidence at a Court Martial today.

Lance Corporal Joshua Mapson, left, and Private Barclay Bishop.

Lance Corporal Joshua Mapson, left, and Private Barclay Bishop. Photo: RNZ / Michael Cropp

Lance Corporal Joshua Mapson and Private Bishop Barclay are facing a Court Martial at Linton Military Camp, charged with doing an act likely to prejudice service discipline, namely taking a psychoactive substance on the night of 24 October.

They were part of a group of eight soldiers who took the drug commonly known as "N-Bomb", and ended up in police custody, where some hit their heads onto the walls until they bled.

Linton Military Camp military policeman (MP) station commander, staff sergeant Kevin Packer, told the Court Martial he was called to the Palmerston North police station shortly after midnight.

Mr Packer said he saw one of the accused, Lance Corporal Joshua Mapson, lying on a bed.

He said the other, Private Bishop Barclay, hit his face against the walls until he bled and was later put into the station's only restraint chair.

Mr Packer said he and civilian police, had to physically restrain another soldier for about 90 minutes.

He said he asked another MP, Corporal Richard Skipper, to film what was happening on a duty cellphone so it could later be used as evidence.

"Some of the soldiers were causing injuries to themselves," Mr Packer said. "We needed footage."

In a video of Mr Barclay in the cells, he could be seen spinning around, looking over his shoulder as though he was trying to see the restraints on his wrists, bumping into the walls, and spasms of movement occasionally flicking through his legs.

In a second video, Mr Barclay was heard screaming as he was taken from his cell and put into a restraining chair.

A third video showed Mr Barclay in a chair, with another soldier on his stomach on the floor.

A video of Mr Mapson showed him sitting on the floor, with his shoulder pressed up against the clear perspex wall at the front of the cell.

Just after 3am, Mr Skipper said Mr Mapson seemed communicative, and was asked what he had taken.

"He said, 'it was in a capsule and he had put some white powder up his nose'," Mr Skipper said.

Mr Mapson then became jittery, and started to foam at the mouth, he said.

He said he offered to get him some water and as he went to leave Mr Mapson became seriously aggressive and attacked him.

The prosecution is expected to finish its case tomorrow, at which point the defences may call their own witnesses.

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