Full honours for shot officer’s funeral

A special funeral service for Constable Matthew Hunt is set to begin at Eden Park late this morning.

The service for the 28-year-old, who was shot while carrying out a traffic stop on June 19 in Massey, West Auckland, will begin about 11am in a huge function room inside the stadium, with full police honours.

Upwards of 1000 people are expected to attend, including a large contingent of police, mostly drawn from the Auckland region, plus dignitaries and Hunt’s family.

Police said the large number of officers in attendance will not affect front-line staffing in Auckland.

Media and the public are unable to attend the service, which will be streamed live online with a feed provided to news outlets.

The feed will not be available on screens outside the stadium.

It is expected to last at least an hour and feature about eight speakers, including Hunt’s mother and sister.

Kerry-Ann Stanton, of State of Grace in West Auckland, is the funeral director.

Hunt’s casket and his family will arrive and depart Eden Park by motorcade.

At the conclusion of the service the casket will be moved onto the turf at Eden Park and the funeral will end with a flag presentation to his family and a guard of honour.

A police piper will also be present.

Commissioner Andrew Coster said police were honoured to provide funeral protocols for Hunt.

‘‘We are grateful to Matthew’s family, and in particular his mum, for allowing Matthew’s police family to be an integral part of his final farewell.

‘‘There is no greater honour we can bestow on a colleague who has made the ultimate sacrifice, and we want to ensure we are able to support Matthew’s family in providing for a fitting tribute for him.’’