AOS inexperience factor in fatal shooting - coroner

Halatau Naitoko, 17, was shot by an AOS officer who was firing at a gunman on a crime spree on Auckland's Northwestern Motorway in January 2009. Photo / supplied

A coroner has called on police to give greater weight to the experience levels of armed offenders' squad (AOS) members when it decides who to send to callouts, following the fatal shooting of an innocent courier driver in Auckland two years ago.

Halatau Naitoko, 17, was shot by an AOS officer who was firing at Stephen Hohepa McDonald, a gunman on a crime spree on Auckland's Northwestern Motorway on January 23, 2009.

Coroner Gordon Matenga said he agreed it was a situation where firearms were called for, as McDonald did present as a threat to them and to innocent people around them.

However, he said it was concerning that two AOS officers missed their target from a range of between 7-9 metres, and that the officer who fired the fatal shot did not recall firing it, probably due to the heightened tension in the circumstances.

These two factors "indicate to me a need for further training and an acknowledgement from AOS that experience matters", Mr Matenga said.

He said the two officers involved were qualified, but were the least experienced members of their squad.

"No thought was given to the experience of the AOS members when the decision was made to divide the attending members into sections. The only criterion used was readiness to deploy," Mr Matenga said.

"The uniqueness of the situation should have, in my view, given the senior AOS officer pause to consider the relative experience of his squad and separate into sections taking experience into account."

- NZPA