Police shooting inquiry: Officers justified in firing at fleeing driver who hijacked three cars at gunpoint

Armed police stand guard near a crashed BMW stolen from a car dealership on Great South Rd.

Two police officers have been deemed justified for shooting at a man who hijacked three cars at gunpoint.

The Independent Police Conduct Authority has also found that an officer who shot and wounded the hijacker who had pointed a pistol at a person’s head was also justified in that action.

The authority investigated the two officers after events of July 15, 2021, when the man took a BMW SUV from a dealership in Auckland.

Police identified the man driving the BMW on the motorway and he fled at high speed when he realised they were following him.

The man drove through road spikes police had set up and crashed the BMW into a traffic island at an intersection.

The authority found that, although the police’s decision to use road spikes to stop the man was justified, their use at that location exposed other drivers to danger and was in breach of police policy.

A police roadblock at the corner of Great South Rd and the Southeastern Highway at Penrose after shots were fired during the incident in 2021.

A police officer carrying a Taser approached the crashed car. The man got out of the car and pointed a pistol at the officer.

The officer immediately fired the Taser, but this was ineffective. The authority concluded that the officer was justified in firing the Taser in self-defence.

The man then hijacked two cars at the intersection in quick succession - he was unable to operate the first one.

As he was forcing his way into the driver’s seat of the second car, the driver fell out onto the road as the car was rolling backward.

The officer who had earlier fired the Taser fired a gun at the man.

“We accept that the officer believed there was a genuine risk that the man would kill or seriously injure the driver.

“The officer’s use of force was necessary, proportionate, and reasonable in the circumstances as he believed them to be”, said Police Conduct Authority chairman, Judge Kenneth Johnston KC.

The officer’s shot missed the man, who fled in that car at speed.

Within about a minute, the man crashed the car at another intersection and hijacked another vehicle by holding his pistol to the driver’s head.

Another officer stopped his car in front of the vehicle, got out and fired one shot at the man through its windscreen.

The shot hit the steering wheel and a fragment of the bullet struck the man’s abdomen.

The authority determined this officer was justified in shooting at the man to defend himself and the driver of the hijacked vehicle.

The officer believed the man posed an imminent threat to him and the driver and that no other, less forceful way of stopping the man was available.

The man surrendered after he had been injured. Police provided first aid to the man and took him to Auckland City Hospital.

The man was subsequently convicted of failing to stop, presenting a firearm at a person, reckless driving, aggravated injury, attempted unlawful taking and unlawfully taking motor vehicles.

Ric Stevens spent many years working for the former New Zealand Press Association news agency, including as a political reporter at Parliament, before holding senior positions at various daily newspapers. He joined NZME’s Open Justice team in 2022 and is based in Hawke’s Bay. His writing in the crime and justice sphere is informed by four years of front-line experience as a probation officer.