Police accepts today's Independent Police Conduct Authority report into the fatal 2013 shooting of Adam Morehu, which finds Taranaki Police were justified in their response given the immediate threat he posed to officers and the public.
Mr Morehu was shot by Police during a burglary incident at the New Plymouth Golf Club in the early hours of 8 June 2013. At the time, he was armed with a rifle and shot at Police who were trying to contain him. A second offender, Kevin Bishell, was later convicted of aggravated robbery and burglary charges in relation to the incident.
"This was an extremely fast-moving, challenging and complex event, which as the Authority has noted, even under ideal conditions would have been highly volatile and stressful for anyone responding," said Assistant Commissioner Allan Boreham.
"Staff on the night were faced with a very difficult situation, operating in darkness and with minimal information, while attempting to contain a number of possible unknown offenders. This included Mr Morehu, who was armed, dangerous and mobile, and refusing to comply with officers who were appealing to him to surrender.
"Sadly, despite the officers' efforts to resolve the situation peacefully, and after other tactical options had failed, Mr Morehu put them in a position where they feared for their lives, and ultimately had no choice but to resort to firearms to protect themselves and others.
"That said, while staff acted with the best of intentions, and in some cases very courageously, we accept the Authority's view that there were a number of failings in relation to communication, coordination and command of the incident.
"In response, we have taken steps to address these issues at both an individual and organisational level. This has for example included further training for the relevant district staff involved in the incident, and extra training for communications centre staff to better support the management of critical incidents.
"Prior to this incident, work was also underway to further improve the structure of Police tactical training, and this has since been implemented. This provides enhanced training to all of our staff to ensure they have the right skills and training to be deployed, including those who may be called on to respond to armed incidents," Mr Boreham said.
"While we are extremely thankful no-one else was hurt during this incident, we are saddened that it had to end in tragedy and our thoughts are with Mr Morehu's whanau, who we have continued to keep updated throughout the investigative process."
Mr Boreham said employment investigations into the actions of five staff involved in the original incident were being finalised, and that any issues arising out of the process were being addressed.
ENDS
Media contact: Ross Henderson, PNHQ Public Affairs, ph 04 470 7316 or 021 192 2919.