Police expected 'spray of bullets'

Police say Leonard Archer Hall shot at them before kidnapping a family in their car and leading a high-speed chase. File Picture / Martin Sykes

Constable Robert Gibson heard the click of a rifle that was pointed at his partner and braced himself.

"He was within two to three metres of the vehicle on the front left, and I remember a click and a movement of his hand.

"When I heard the click I expected a spray of bullets to come towards the windscreen. Self-preservation probably kicked in, and I jumped out of the vehicle with my head facing towards the rear."

The rifle misfired, but police say it was not the last time they were in the sights of Leonard Hall, who allegedly kidnapped an Auckland family and led police on a 45-minute chase starting at the St Lukes carpark.

Constable Gibson gave depositions evidence yesterday in the Auckland District Court about events on June 5 last year.

In the dock behind him, the man accused of firing the rifle and kidnapping a family to escape police wore a black T-shirt saying "Whatever it is ... I didn't do it".

Hall came to the attention of police that morning in Ponsonby, where police say he was driving a Silver Nissan Skyline. When a marked patrol car pulled up behind him he drove through a red light, starting the first of two chases.

The first pursuit reached speeds of more than 100km/h and was called off for public safety. Police lost sight of the car.

Thinking it might have been dumped at St Lukes, Constables Gibson and Karl Pennington entered the underground carpark shortly after 9am, where they saw Hall, who walked towards the car with a rifle pointed at the windscreen.

"He was very enraged and seemed very angry," said Mr Gibson. "I was assessing whether we should reverse or even run him over to protect ourselves but ... he had the gun in aim ... If I moved the car, he might fire a shot at us."

Hall kept walking, and Constable Gibson heard the click that propelled him out of the car.

Lying flat on the ground, he thought about his partner.

"Initially I thought he had been shot, but then I heard him call on the radio and then he jumped out the driver's door."

Then a shot went off.

"I vividly remember the sound of the gun going off. It was very loud ... I felt pressure or wind above the top of my head. I thought I had been shot."

After feeling for blood he realised he had escaped injury. The bullet had passed through the door, just above his head.

"I looked at Constable Pennington and was amazed that we were both still alive. Then I looked up and saw the defendant running out of the carpark."

The constables assessed the situation from behind the safety of a concrete pillar. They saw Hall attempting to take several cars from the carpark, pointing the rifle at one motorist.

"He saw us. It seemed like we made eye contact and he started running towards us.

"We felt pretty powerless. We both looked at each other and Constable Pennington said to me, 'Run boy, run'. He had complete fear in his eyes. We both ran as fast as we could."

Another shot was fired.

"We ran out of the underground carpark, regained our composure and stopped the public coming into the carpark."

The court heard that Hall climbed into the back of a car carrying three people, starting the second pursuit of the day.

Police say during this pursuit that Hall waved his rifle and Mongrel Mob jacket out the window. He also climbed out the back window and fired a shot at the police car following him. An armed offenders squad member fired a shot back.

The chase ended on the Northwestern Motorway after squad cars pushed the car off the road. Hall was arrested and the family taken to hospital.

The depositions hearing is expected to last several days.

The charges
Leonard Hall faces 19 charges. They include:
* Attempted murder
* Kidnapping
* Various firearms charges
* Dangerous driving.