Four members of the Armed Offenders Squad were injured in a shoot-out while storming the Kawerau home where Warren was holed up. NZ Herald has obtained the audio recording of how Morehu persuaded Warren to come out safely.
A bullet ricocheted into Constable Regan Mauheni's skull and left shrapnel in his brain.
One of the survivors of the Kawerau siege has revealed he still has pieces of metal inside his brain.
Constable Regan Mauheni was one of four Armed Offenders Squad members injured during the 22-hour siege involving shooter Rhys Warren near Kawerau in March last year.
Warren was yesterday convicted of six charges, including two counts of attempted murder.
Mauheni told Police News, the monthly magazine of the Police Association, he's "lucky to alive" after a bullet ricocheted off a colleague's M4 rifle and into his skull.
The award-winning dog-handler dropped like a "big kauri tree", according to evidence given at Warren's trial, before being dragged to safety during a fire fight in which AOS officers fired 46 rounds.
Mauheni does not recall being struck by the bullet, but does remember being dragged out of the house at 158 Onepu Spring Rd.
"The adrenaline was still pumping and I knew what was happening. I knew I was a bit of a mess," he told Police News.
His skull cracked by his left temple, while shrapnel entered his face, lips, neck and chest.
Regan Mauheni on the cover of the March edition of Police News March. Photo / Supplied.
Mauheni was flown to Rotorua Hospital, then Waikato Hospital, where doctors cut out a piece of his skull in order to remove metal fragments lodged in his brain.
"There's still some left in there, in the middle, where it's too dangerous to remove it. No MRI scans for me," he joked to Police News.
Two metal plates and a semi-circle scar are permanent reminders of the gunfight and Mauheni's two-week stay in hospital.
His recovery involved help from speech therapists, psychiatrists and other brain injury specialists, as well as 26 tablets every day for pain relief.
"My memory went, I was calling my people and my dogs different names. I failed all the memory tests they gave me."
He still suffers from weariness and headaches, while tiny bits of metal still emerge from his face randomly.
Rhys Richard Ngahiwi Warren represented himself at his trial. Photo / Alan Gibson.
However, leaving the police never crossed his mind and he's resumed his duties in Dunedin.
"I love what I do and can't wait to get back into the black kit."
Three other officers were hurt in the siege and the Herald yesterday revealed exclusive audio of the phone conversation during which Inspector Warwick Morehu convinced Warren to surrender safely.
Warren will be sentenced in the High Court at Tauranga in May.
