KEY POINTS:
The police's fatal shooting of a man armed with a hammer in Christchurch last night shows the need for officers to be armed with tasers, New Zealand First said today.
Law and order spokesman Ron Mark said: "Had tasers been available, it is likely the attending police officers would not have had to resort to using lethal force.
"As it stands now, officers have the option of using either a baton or lethal force when responding to incidents involving violence. This is too great a jump between response options.
"Tasers provide a level of force that fits between the two options, and it is patently obvious that such an intermediate step is needed in the Police toolkit.
A taser trial ended on August 31 and the stun guns are not currently available to officers. They were never used in Christchurch.
Police Association president Greg O'Connor on last night's shooting:
Police Association president Greg O'Connor said if a taser had been available, the Police Officer would have likely used it but it was too soon to say if the outcome would have been different.
Mr O'Connor said the facts surrounding last night's shooting were not yet known.
"Certainly what the taser is a less than lethal option for police officers to use when they fear for their safety," Mr O'Connor said.
Mr O'Connor flew to Christchurch this afternoon to visit and talk with police staff.
"Everyone is under seige,"Mr O'Connor said.
He said the last thing police officers want is to be faced with a situation where using force is necessary.
"But the public need to understand that there are people out there who are violent," Mr O'Connor said.
He said the usual "arm chair" critics will come out criticising "the police" but this case is about an individual police officer who acted in a particular situation.
Mr O'Connor said an email that was sent by some Christchurch police and included a picture of a police officer stabbed and text reportedly saying: "If you've got a knife, then you should die ... period" is a red herring.
"It's irrelevant. Police Officers take each each situation on it's merits," Mr O'Connor said.
He said "armchair critics" would speculate and make judgments about what could or should have been done.
"But the officer involved was the person who was there, facing the situation, who had the training, and who was faced with the responsibility of actually making a decision.
"It's a hell of a decision to have to make. I know that officer will be feeling absolutely shattered by that experience," Mr O'Connor said.
Having to shoot someone is something police dread doing and the officer involved in last night's shooting has the full support of the Association, said Mr O'Connor
"It's a possibility police face every time they go on shift. Even so, nobody goes to work expecting to be placed in a position where they are forced to shoot somebody."
He said people should wait until police and Police Complaints Authority investigations are complete before "making a judgement call".
When can police use their weapons?
The information below is from the Police General Instructions on the use of firearms and outlines when officers are, and are not, allowed to use their weapons.
* To defend themselves or others if they fear the offender could kill or cause grievous bodily harm to themselves or others.
* To arrest an offender if they believe that the offender could kill or do grievous bodily harm to themselves or others in resisting arrest.
* To stop an offender escaping if the offender poses a threat of killing or causing grievous bodily harm to anyone.
* Police are not allowed to shoot people until the offender has been warned to surrender and if the offender cannot be disarmed and poses a threat on the run.
- NZHERALD STAFF
