Waikato officer's 'warning shots' during pursuit were unjustified, police watchdog finds

July 23, 2019

A Waikato police officer’s decision to fire three warning shots to stop a fleeing driver in Huntly was not justified, according to the Independent Police Conduct Authority.

On November 12, 2017, a police pursuit began after a man fled during an arrest.

Police patrolling in the Huntly area encountered a man who they wanted to arrest for a family harm incident, but before they could handcuff him he fled in a Toyota. 

Another officer heard the pursuit called over the police radio and travelled to assist.

That officer armed himself with a pistol because he thought the Toyota may have been linked to an armed robbery that had occurred in Hamilton six hours earlier, the report says.

He used road spikes to try to stop the Toyota as it travelled along State Highway 1, but in trying to avoid the spikes and continue fleeing, the driver attempted a U-turn. During this time the officer ran towards the rear of the Toyota. As the man began reversing to complete the U-turn, the officer fired three warning shots into the ground in an attempt to make him stop.

The authority found that neither the officer’s decision to arm nor to fire warning shots were reasonable.

Authority chairman Judge Colin Doherty said the officer had "no sound basis for his decision to arm in the first place".

"He then unnecessarily placed himself in a dangerous situation. Rather than firing the pistol that he should not have been carrying, he could have jumped out of the way of the reversing car."

Meanwhile, the pursuing police arrived. They used their car to push the Toyota off the road to prevent the driver from completing his U-turn.

The authority found that although nudging an offender’s vehicle is not an approved police tactic, it was justified under the specific circumstances. The key consideration was the potential for significant risk to the public if the fleeing driver had been able to complete the U-turn and drive down the wrong side of State Highway 1 into oncoming traffic.

The very slow speed of both cars was also an important factor, the watchdog found.

The man surrendered, and police pulled him from the car onto the ground, but he refused to let go of the seatbelt, authorities said. An officer then kicked the man to the midriff to make him release the seatbelt, according to the report.

The authority also found that the kick, by a different officer than the one who fired shots, was not justified.

Waikato district commander and acting superintendent Warwick Morehu acknowledged the findings, but said "police deal with fast-moving and ever-changing situations every day, and split-second decisions need to be made to keep the community and police safe".

"In this instance, we acknowledge that some of the decisions made by officers could have been better, and alternative tactical options should have been considered," Mr Morehu said today in a statement.

"However, we note that no one was injured and this high-speed fleeing driver incident was resolved successfully."

Following the incident and investigation, the officers involved have been supported and have had intensive training to deal with their situational awareness, decision making and use of tactical options, police said. 

The pursuit was otherwise properly commenced and conducted safely in accordance with the law and police policy, the authority concluded.

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