IPCA finds cop unjustified in shooting fleeing armed man in Auckland car chase

• Police were unjustified in shooting an armed man during a car chase in September 2021.
• However, police were justified in shooting at him later at a Hillsborough property.
• The IPCA commended the officer’s bravery, noting the dangerous nature of the incident.

Police were unjustified in shooting an armed man sitting in a passenger seat fleeing in a car chase, the Independent Police Conduct Authority has found.

However, they were justified in shooting at him at a Hillsborough property a short time later where the chase ended.

The incident happened in September 2021 and involved a half-hour chase from Ōtāhuhu, along the Southern Motorway to Ellerslie where the first shots were fired.

Two men were involved in the incident. A first man abandoned a car being pursued by police on the Southern Motorway before getting into another car driven by another man.

“The Armed Offenders Squad were activated, and two dog handlers followed in order to intervene if the man threatened the public,” a spokesperson for IPCA said.

Thirty minutes into the chase, the first of three “armed interactions” at an Ellerslie intersection occurred.

“Although the man pointed a firearm at the officer, we found the officer was not justified in firing at him due to the risk he might inadvertently hit the driver of the fleeing vehicle [whose role in events at that time was unclear], or the public.”

The two other times police fired at the men occurred at the Hillsborough property a short while later.

Police on Lilac Grove, Hillsborough after the pursuit ended in a shooting. Photo / Dean Purcell

The offender pointed his gun at the police running towards the house and again during a confrontation on the deck.

The IPCA commended the officer’s “considerable bravery” in all these instances. They said although it was a wrap-around effort with multiple people involved, one officer took a leading role in responding to the threat.

Relieving Auckland City District Commander, Acting Superintendent Sunny Patel called it a “dangerous” incident that played out across the city.

“The officer involved only had seconds to decide on their actions, and thankfully no one else was hurt or killed that day.”

“Our staff are reminded of our policies around fleeing vehicles and pursuits involving firearms, and the risk that discharging a firearm poses.”

Sign up to The Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.