Hero cop dies while on East Otago High School camp
A police officer once shot at while pursuing a suspect has died while on a school camp.
Palmerston Senior Constable Stefan Witehira died on Wednesday at a year 10 camp for East Otago High School students. He was chairman of the school’s board of trustees.
Emergency services were called to a Glenorchy property around 11.45am after Witehira went into cardiac arrest.
East Otago High School principal Lennox Sharp issued a statement mourning the loss of its ‘‘community leader’’.
‘‘Stefan was a well-known and highly respected member of both our school and the East Otago community.
Witehira and colleague Senior Constable Darrin Low were shot at while laying road spikes south of Palmerston in 2009.
The pair later received Silver Merit Awards from the New Zealand Police for exhibiting ‘‘professionalism and courage’’ during the incident.
The male shooter was a passenger in a stolen truck, which a woman was driving, during a police pursuit.
Witehira and Low pursued the truck until it crashed. The occupants ran several kilometres before police overpowered the suspects.
At the time, Witehira said: ‘‘We were just doing our job.’’