Police criticised in shooting report
The investigation into the fatal police shooting on an Auckland motorway of courier driver Halatau Naitoko is set to criticise police after the Independent Police Conduct Authority said it was passing its report to police for review under ‘‘adverse comment’’ legislation.
Mr Naitoko, 17, was accidentally killed by police on January 23 2009 as they fired at Stephen Mcdonald.
Another man, Richard Neville, was also wounded in the shooting on Auckland’s North Western Motorway.
Mcdonald had stolen vehicles and property at gunpoint, threatened members of the public and police with a firearm, led police on an extensive chase and fired at the police helicopter and pursuing officers.
Authority chairwoman Justice Lowell Goddard said yesterday the police watchdog had completed its ‘‘detailed’’ investigation.
The draft report had been forwarded to the Commissioner of Police so he could provide comment before the report was finalised.
Justice Goddard said it was passed to police as part of a ‘‘natural justice process’’ under section 31 of the Independent Police Conduct Authority Act, which specifies: ‘‘The authority shall not, in any opinion or recommendation, make any comment that is adverse to any person unless that person has been given a reasonable opportunity to be heard.’’
In a finding released in August last
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year, coroner Gordon Matenga heavily criticised police actions during the incident.
Mr Matenga said he was greatly concerned that officers had missed their intended target with four shots ‘‘from a reasonably close range of between 7 and 9 metres’’.
He added that the failure of one officer to appreciate what was within the line of fire ‘‘indicates to me a need for further training and an acknowledgement by AOS that experience matters’’.
The two officers involved were the least experienced of those to respond to the incident, he said.
Mr Matenga also criticised one officer – part of the chasing group of officers – for stopping and exiting his vehicle when the chase came to an end, drawing his weapon and firing it in the direction of the fleeing Mcdonald. ‘‘This was a gross infraction of the Police Instructions on Firearms, appears to have been incredibly dangerous and is a matter I will refer to the IPCA to deal with,’’ he said.
Mr Matenga said that while he was critical of the officer who fired the fatal shots and his ‘‘awareness of the situation’’, he said the actions of both officers who fired shots were justified.
In yesterday’s IPCA announcement, Justice Goddard said the investigation was one of the most intricate and complex undertaken by the authority.
‘‘The authority interviewed police officers and non-sworn staff, examined forensic material and ESR reconstructions of the event, reviewed police policies and relevant legislation, and sought advice from independent scientists and medical experts,’’ she said.
‘‘The circumstances of Mr Naitoko’s death were tragic and his loss remains a source of huge grief for his family. I have personally kept in regular contact with his mother and other family throughout this extensive investigation and have been acutely aware of their need for resolution to this case,’’ she said.
Justice Goddard said she had asked the commissioner to respond to the draft report by March 9. ‘‘The authority intends to report publicly as soon as practicable after this date,’’ she said.
Mcdonald was sentenced to 13 years prison for his actions in the leadup to the shooting.