12-hour police cordon ‘regrettable’
SH1 scene investigation after man wielding machete shot dead couldn’t have gone any faster, says inspector
Pcrime and justice olice say a 12-hour motorway closure after a fatal shooting north of Auckland was “regrettable” but they make no apologies to frustrated motorists for doing their job.
A 27km stretch of State Highway 1 near Puhoi was closed to all traffic on Saturday after a man was shot dead by police.
He was killed after police said he confronted officers with a machete just before 4am. The road was closed immediately. It did not reopen until 3.55pm.
The closure created traffic chaos for hundreds of people heading out of the city for the long Easter weekend.
Police have been heavily criticised by members of the public for the closure — primarily for the length of time they had the area shut down to traffic.
Inspector Trevor Beggs, road policing manager for the Waitemata District, said there are a number of reasons why it took 12 hours to clear the scene.
“That location is often associated with serious crashes, and in that situation the Serious Crash Unit will get in, do what they need to do and be out in a couple of hours,” he said.
“But this was a firearms incident, a much more complex and difficult scene.
“We only get one chance to gather evidence and to do the best job we can.”
Police are investigating the death of the 29-year-old alongside investigations by the Coroner and Inde- pendent Police Conduct Authority.
Beggs said it was crucial to ensure every piece of available evidence was collected — including physical evidence, scene photographs and mapping of the area.
“There were the initial staff who responded, then detective teams, then the photography section, mapping, ESR forensic staff and others.
“The ESR guys are often in their on their hands and knees looking for vital evidence.”
Beggs said there was no way the scene examination could have been completed any faster.
He visited the scene and saw staff “under pressure” to get the job done — and properly.
He received half-hourly updates and worked with transport agencies to update them on the status of the road closure.
“We wanted to do the best job for everyone concerned,” he said.
“The family of the deceased of course, the police staff involved and everyone else.
“We really needed to be in there gathering all the evidence we could.”
Beggs said the location of the incident made traffic diversion challenging.
“If this had happened a few kilometres back down the road at Albany, we could have diverted people off the motorway there [along the alternative toll-free route],” he said.
“But because of where the scene
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was, we didn’t have many options.
“Unfortunately it was one of the busiest, if not the busiest weekend of the year — it was the worst possible time for an event like this to happen.”
Beggs thanked motorists for their patience and hoped those criticising police for the delays would understand how and why it had happened.
“This happened at 4am and we had to wait until daylight for most of the work at the scene to begin,” he explained.
“It was regrettable that it took so long, but unfortunately that could not be helped.
“I visited the scene and I was comfortable that staff were working flat out to get that road opened.
“At the end of the day, we had one chance to get it right — and we needed to get it right.”
The investigations into the death of the 29-year-old from East Auckland are ongoing. His name will not be released until after his funeral, at the direct request of his family.
Police are appealing for anyone who saw the victim’s car to contact them.
“We are specifically interested in any sightings of the vehicle in the Rodney area between Silverdale and Warkworth on State Highway 1 between 1.20am and 4am on Saturday 31 March 2018,” Detective Inspector John Sutton said yesterday.