Kawerau siege shooter - 'I thought I was going to die'

Armed police on Onepu Springs Rd, just out from Kawerau during the stand-off last year. Photo / Nick Reed

The man who allegedly fired at police during a 22-hour siege says he fired only because he was frightened by armed intruders and didn't know it was the police inside the home.

Rhys Richard Ngahiwi Warren gave evidence in his own defence in the High Court in Hamilton today, where he is facing two charges of attempted murder, three counts of using a firearm against law enforcement officers and one charge of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

The incident happened on Onepu Springs Rd near Kawerau last March.

Warren made a short opening statement in te Reo and English and gave the jury a history lesson to explain his "mistrust and fear" of the police.

He said Maori should govern themselves under the Declaration of Independence and the Treaty of Waitangi but had been oppressed by the Crown for 176 years.

"This has been going on in Kawerau right up until March 9, 2016."

Warren said he was had stayed up all night and was asleep in his grandmother's home when he was woken by a loudspeaker and the sound of smashing windows.

"I thought I was dreaming. I jumped out of my skin, I was frightened."

He grabbed his grandfather's hunting rifle from under the bed and loaded it.

"Next thing, I saw a rifle aiming up the hallway, so I shot the gun.

"Bullets came from every direction. The 46 rounds fired by the two AOS officers felt like hundreds," said Warren.

"I reloaded and put the gun around the corner, I didn't see anyone, and fired just to scare them out of the house."

Warren said he never fired at the police aeroplane, as alleged by the Crown, and did not fire at the police outside the home after the initial firefight in the hallway.

"I was scared, I thought l was going to die. It was never my intention for someone to get hurt. I was scared."

Crown prosecutor Aaron Perkins QC cross-examined Warren and pointed out one of the officers outside the home was injured by a shot fired after the hallway exchange.

But Warren said that was part of the police "cover-up".

The cross examination continues today.