The funeral for Constable Matthew Hunt was at Eden Park on July 9. Photo / NZ Police
The funeral for Constable Matthew Hunt was at Eden Park on July 9. Photo / NZ Police
Constable Matthew Hunt was shot dead during a routine traffic stop in June this year.
That day he became the 33rd police officer killed by a criminal act in the line of duty.
Today in episode 11 of NZME podcast A Moment In Crime we look back at the frontline deaths and revisit some of the stories that have shocked and saddened New Zealand.
The episode comes two days before the annual police Remembrance Day - a date marked internationally to pay tribute to cops killed while on duty, and others who have died during the year.
Matthew Dennis Hunt was born and raised in Auckland.
His lifelong dream was to become a police officer and after he finished school he obtained a bachelor of arts in criminology and worked as a case manager at Auckland Prison before travelling to live and work in Britain.
He returned home in 2017 to attend the Royal New Zealand Police College and graduated in October that year.
Hunt was a promising young cop who wanted to become a detective.
A man has been charged with Hunt's murder and is currently before the courts.
Hunt's death came 11 years after the last police killing, when Senior Constable Len Snee was shot dead in Napier by local drug dealer Jan Molenaar during another routine exercise.
Snee and two colleagues had been executing a warrant in a bid to find drugs at Molenaar's Chaucer Rd property.
Molenaar killed Snee and badly wounded the two other men.
After a lengthy stand off, Molenaar took his own life.
Senior Constable Len Snee. Photo / supplied
In episode 11 of A Moment In Crime senior journalist Anna Leask looks back at the deaths - and pays tribute to the fallen officers.
The officers are:
Constable Matthew Hunt, June 2020 Senior Constable Len Snee, May 2009 Sergeant Don Wilkinson, September 2008 Sergeant Derek Wootton, July 2008 Detective Constable Duncan Taylor, July 2002 Constable Lester Murray Stretch, May 1999 Constable Glenn McKibbin, April 1996 Sergeant Stewart Guthrie, November 1990 Senior Constable Peter Umbers, May 1990 Traffic Officer Robin Dudding, April 1986 Traffic Officer Barry Gibson, June 1977 Constable Peter Murphy, September 1976 Sergeant Gilbert Peter Arcus, February 1970 Detective Constable Ronald Bernard Hill, May 1969 Constable Donald Stokes, August 1966 Constable Bryan Schultz, February 1963 Constable James Richardson, February 1963 Detective Inspector Wallace Chalmers, January 1963 Constable Louis Hekenui (Heke) Bidois, May 1956 Sergeant William Shore Hughes, May 1951 Traffic Officer John Kehoe, January 1949 Constable Edward Best, October 1941 Constable Percy Tulloch, October 1941 Constable Frederick Jordan, October 1941 Sergeant William Cooper, October 1941 Constable James Butler, January 1938 Constable Thomas Heeps, October 1934 Constable James Dorgan, August 1921 Constable Vivian Dudding, October 1919 Constable John Doyle, February 1913 Sergeant John Patrick Hackett McGuire, April 1910 Constable Neil McLeod, July 1890
Leask has been covering crime and justice for the Herald for more than a decade and has reported on most of the major incidents and events over that time.
"Each month I'll take you inside some of our most infamous incidents, notorious offenders and behind the scenes of high-profile trials and events to show you what's really happening in your backyard," she said.
"Heroes and villains battle for justice to be done, and it seems no matter how horrifying the story, we always want to know more.
"If you want to know more about the cases that have shocked and shaped our nation - from murders and massacres to violent villains and the utterly unbelievable - join me for A Moment In Crime."
In our first episode, we looked back at the Christchurch terror attack - what unfolded on March 15 and how it changed New Zealand.
The podcast has also delved into the death of West Auckland toddler Aisling Symes, the cold case murder of Kayo Matsuzawa, the murder of Feilding farmer Scott Guy, the cold case of schoolgirl Alicia O'Reilly and double killer Jason Somerville, infamous for the Christchurch House of Horrors.
In 2017, Leask wrote and hosted Chasing Ghosts - a six-part podcast series on the Amber-Lee Cruickshank case.
The South Island toddler disappeared almost 27 years ago from a small town on the shore of Lake Wakatipu.
To mark the 25th anniversary of Amber-Lee's disappearance, Leask investigated the famous cold case in a bid to generate some answers for the toddler's family.
