NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

'Chatter' blocked police radio before innocent teen shot

Jared Savage
By Jared Savage
Investigative Journalist·NZ Herald·
3 Mar, 2010 03:00 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Halatau Naitoko

Halatau Naitoko

A secure radio channel used by police marksmen was unusable before the fatal shooting of an innocent teenager on a motorway in central Auckland.

One of the police officers who shot at P-fuelled gunman Stephen Hohepa McDonald has revealed that the armed offenders squad's channel - separate from the regular
police radio - was not working in the minutes before the standoff in January last year.

The armed offenders squad member gave his account this week at an inquest behind closed doors into events leading up to the death of Halatau Naitoko.

The 17-year-old was accidentally shot dead by police during a stand-off with McDonald on the Northwestern Motorway near Western Springs.

Secret inquest evidence from the policeman - identified only as Officer 81 - was made public yesterday in transcripts which revealed the chain of events before he and and Officer 84 made the decision to confront McDonald.

The officers could not tell the police northern communications centre they were going to confront the fugitive because the AOS channel was not working and there was too much radio "chatter" on the regular police channel.

Up to 20 police cars and the Eagle helicopter were involved in the pursuit, resulting in a nose-to-tail crash between squad cars at one point.

Officer 84 fired the shot that killed Halatau Naitoko.

Colin Pidgeon, QC, acting on behalf of Halatau's family, suggested to Officer 81 that if the armed offenders squad officers had kept their distance from McDonald, they would not have needed to fire.

Officer 81 replied: "I took the action that I believed was necessary to keep people safe."

Mr Pidgeon said the actions turned out to be "disastrous" and Officer 81 agreed the death of Halatau was a tragedy.

On behalf of the coroner, lawyer Chris Morris suggested squad members' inability to communicate with one another would have been difficult and "extremely frustrating" for them.

Replied Officer 81: "It was not something that was ideal but it did not affect the outcome."

The "extreme threat" of McDonald meant there was no time to keep trying to use the congested radio channel.

Under questioning from coroner Gordon Matenga, Officer 81 said no one issued the order to engage McDonald and there was no time to discuss tactics with Officer 84.

"So there was not time to simply say, 'What should we do?"' asked Mr Matenga.

Officer 81: "It was obvious what we needed to do. There was not time to have a discussion about it. We are both aware of our training and what was required."

Officers 81 and 84 approached to within 10m of McDonald as he was trying to hijack a flatbed truck that had stopped on the motorway.

"I could clearly see him holding the firearm at that point and I yelled, 'Stop, armed police'," said Officer 81.

"At that point, the offender raised his gun and pointed it at me. I thought he was going to shoot me and I feared for my life.

"No other tactical options were appropriate when I fired at him.

"After I shot, the offender went down immediately on the deck of the truck, lying face-down with the top of his head towards me, and I yelled "Don't f***ing move'."

McDonald was arrested, and the officer learned soon after that Halatau had been killed.

CROSS-EXAMINATION OF OFFICER 81

Colin Pidgeon, QC: When you ran across the motorway, was it your intention then to use your weapon?

Officer 81: Not if I could avoid it. That is why I called on him [Stephen McDonald] to surrender.

Mr Pidgeon: From your position when you fired the shot, you must have been able to have seen the van in which Mr Naitoko was, do you agree?

Officer 81: No. I was focused on the offender and his actions.

Mr Pidgeon: On a busy motorway, did you not think it was advisable to look first to see if any of the public was in danger?

Officer 81: At that time, I feared that I was going to be shot, potentially killed. I had to react immediately.

Mr Pidgeon: I put it to you that if you had acted with more prudence and kept back, you would not have placed yourself in the situation that you are giving to the court, would you?

Officer 81: There is lots of different scenarios that could have eventuated. I took the action that I believed was necessary to keep people safe.

Mr Pidgeon: Would you accept that the actions of not just you but the armed offenders squad turned out to be disastrous. Do you accept that?

Officer 81: The end result was a tragedy, yes.

Discover more

New Zealand|crime

'I'll see cop who shot son'

27 Feb 03:00 PM
New Zealand|crime

Motorway shooting inquest to resume

28 Feb 11:26 PM
New Zealand|crime

Motorway shooting: Tearful officer tells of slain teen

02 Mar 03:00 PM
New Zealand

Inquiry could criticise police

20 Nov 04:30 PM
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

Premium
Auckland

'Negligent': First mother-baby HIV cases diagnosed in NZ in 20 years

12 Jul 05:00 PM
Premium
Editorial

Editorial: Using immigration as a primary tool to drive economic growth is risky business

12 Jul 05:00 PM
Kahu

Life in the balance: What it's like to be young, on a transplant waitlist

12 Jul 05:00 PM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

Premium
'Negligent': First mother-baby HIV cases diagnosed in NZ in 20 years

'Negligent': First mother-baby HIV cases diagnosed in NZ in 20 years

12 Jul 05:00 PM

Routine screening had effectively eliminated perinatal HIV cases – until now.

Premium
Editorial: Using immigration as a primary tool to drive economic growth is risky business

Editorial: Using immigration as a primary tool to drive economic growth is risky business

12 Jul 05:00 PM
Life in the balance: What it's like to be young, on a transplant waitlist

Life in the balance: What it's like to be young, on a transplant waitlist

12 Jul 05:00 PM
'Two bits of gold': How ballet and sumo transformed the All Blacks

'Two bits of gold': How ballet and sumo transformed the All Blacks

12 Jul 05:00 PM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP