Police cleared of shooting man
Cops acting in self-defence, Conduct Authority finds
Despite bungling its communication and command, and firing eight of 12 shots at the back of a man armed with a machete, police were legally justified in shooting Jerrim Toms near Warkworth, north of Auckland, the Independent Police Conduct Authority has found.
The officers should have focused on co-ordinating a safe conclusion, and the shift commander should have broadcast a clear plan over the police radio.
However, the IPCA said the officers’ actions had to be viewed in context of a “highly stressful situation” when officers were unsure if other members of the public were in the vicinity.
Toms was shot after earlier threatening to kill staff at a service station.
But police have also been lambasted for failing to pass information to the officers on the ground from a call by Toms’ mother 30 minutes before, stating he had left her house armed, high on P, and agitated.
Toms came to police attention about 3.20am on March 31 last year when an officer saw him in a Subaru parked on State Highway 1 at Puhoi, south of Warkworth.
His vehicle was partially blocking a lane, and when the officer stopped to speak with him, Toms got out with a machete in his hand.
The officer reversed, called for back-up and then followed Toms when he drove off.
Police pursued Toms for 40 minutes, using road spikes three times.
On occasion, Toms would stop and interact with officers before driving off again.
Eventually he, and the now seven patrol cars that had been following him, stopped. .
Toms, armed with the machete, approached one of the two closest officers, who also got out of their vehicle.
Toms ignored the officer’s commands to stop, drop his weapon and get on the ground.
When he got to within about 1.5m, the two officers – one of whom had recently graduated from police college – began firing: 12 shots within about four seconds. Five hit him.
The first four shots caused two fatal chest injuries.
The authority determined that, although eight of the 12 shots were fired after Toms had started running away from the officers, they were all legally justified as the officers were acting in self-defence and defence of others.
One officer honestly believed he had fired all his shots before Toms turned away and the other believed Toms still posed a threat.
“I think he just turned around and then he ran. I remember my gun going off last when he turned around and ran off.”
However, footage from the Eagle helicopter showed he fired five more shots at Toms after he began running away. Two were fired after Toms dropped the machete.
The pair gave evidence that they didn’t know five other officers were standing behind them, including a dog handler preparing to release his dog.
Authority chairman Judge Colin Doherty said the second officer was “making instant decisions in a highly stressful situation”.
“He did not know other police were in the immediate vicinity; and he thought that members of the public might have been at the scene.
“Given Mr Toms’ prior actions, it is therefore understandable that the officer’s mind was focused on neutralising the threat that he believed he posed.
“As soon as Mr Toms dropped his weapon, the officer stopped firing.”
The IPCA also found the officers breached policy by failing to notify the Police Communications Centre and not wearing ballistic body armour.
Officers initially went to Toms’ mother’s house, but closed the job after failing to find him or his Subaru.
Waitemata District Commander Superintendent Naila Hassan said the officers were left with no other options.
“These officers showed immense bravery in a high-risk situation dealing with an offender who was on methamphetamine and highly agitated.
“I really want to take this opportunity to acknowledge the two officers involved.”
Police shootings had a major impact on the staff involved and their families.
“Police officers every day selflessly put themselves into dangerous and often lifethreatening positions like on this occasion, and they do this because they care about our community.
“We wish that every situation could be resolved without incident but policing can be unpredictable and the situations are often complex,” Hassan said.
The officers involved were cleared of any criminal wrongdoing in an internal investigation.