Police facing arms threats being logged
Escalating gun violence – highlighted by a shootout in suburban Christchurch – has prompted police to kickstart a national project logging firearms threats against officers.
A 33-year-old man was shot at by police in Christchurch just before 7.30pm on Tuesday after opening fire at police with a shotgun.
The same man was alleged to have fired shots at two police cars in two separate incidents early Saturday morning, Canterbury district commander Superintendent John Price said.
Police Association president Chris Cahill said yesterday officers were finding firearms in the hands of criminals on a daily basis throughout the country, with weekly reports of offenders confronting officers with guns.
‘‘We’re playing russian roulette with the safety of police officers and members of the public because there’s just too many firearms that are in the hands of criminals.’’
Acting Inspector Richard Wilson said staff were telling police bosses anecdotally that firearms were being presented more often.
A national project had been started to gather more specific data on the number and types of incidents where firearms were presented at officers to better understand the said.
Police had also invested more than $20 million in new body armour.
In Tuesday’s incident, the man got out of his grey Holden car on Eveleyn Couzins Ave, Richmond, and crouched behind the back of the car, firing at police ‘‘multiple times’’ with a shotgun. Police fired back using Bushmaster rifles and police-issue Glock pistols. The offender was shot twice in the lower body.
The man remained under armed police guard yesterday afternoon in a serious but stable condition.
Cahill said life was now ‘‘a hell of a lot more dangerous’’ for officers on the frontline.
risks
faced, he