The coroner has found that a Slovakian man shot by police in Auckland's Myers Park three years ago "wittingly or unwittingly" contributed to his own death but in circumstances which do not amount to suicide.
David Cerven, 21, was shot by police after a standoff on August 2, 2015 and died at the scene in the park in central Auckland.
Coroner Katharine Greig has today released findings of an inquest held last year.
She found the cause of Mr Cerven's death was gunshot injury to the abdomen from a weapon discharged by a police officer in circumstances that do not amount to suicide.
The coroner said she accepted on the balance of probabilities that Mr Cerven committed three aggravated robberies on the North Shore between July 26 and August 1.
In a Facebook post after the first robbery he said he had visited a Catholic church and that "heaven is waiting for me" and "my time finish". In the same post he noted that his loan would get paid by the government if he died. He deactivated his Facebook account on July 27.
The coroner said the aggravated robberies, and leaving his bag with his passport in it at the scene of the last robbery, set the scene for the events of August 2.
That afternoon Mr Cerven became aware police had released his name on Facebook, stating that they were looking for him over an armed robbery. Mr Cerven confessed to his girlfriend, Eva Vyrvova, who had come to New Zealand with him. He called police on 111, telling the call taker where he could be found in Myers Park.
Officers at the scene instructed him loudly, "armed police, get down on the ground", and Mr Cerven pulled his hands out of his pockets, brought them up together and pointed them at two officers.
All the officers present interpreted Mr Cerven's actions as being that he had a gun he was bringing up and pointing at the officers. He had told police he had a gun.
Police who later examined the scene found a cellphone by Mr Cerven's legs, but no weapon, the coroner said.
The coroner said she accepted that "officers 12 and 16 believed that Mr Cerven had a gun in his hands and they were going to be shot and that it was on this basis they they fired shots in Mr Cerven's direction - to protest themselves and others at the scene from death or serious injury".
"Accordingly, although I have found that I am left in a state of uncertainty about why Mr Cerven behaved as he did, I find that his own actions in Myers Park, particularly after challenged by Officers 12 and 16, wittingly or unwittingly, contributed to his death."
The coroner made no recommendations.
Ms Greig extended her condolences to Mr Cerven's mother and his girlfriend.
"I acknowledge the tragedy of the loss of a dearly loved son and partner in circumstances that were sudden and shocking and made even more difficult because his death occurred in a country far from home," the coroner said.
Police have also released a statement saying their own internal investigations are consistent with the findings of the coronial inquest into Mr Cerven's death.
Investigations by the police and the Independent Police Conduct Authority found the officers actions in shooting Mr Cerven were justified.
"This was an extremely challenging and tragic outcome for all where my staff had to make split-second decisions under considerable pressure and had to consider not only the risks to themselves, but the risk to the general public," Assistant Commissioner Richard Chambers said.
“This was not an outcome that any of my police officers wanted."
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