Ratahi's daughters question 'shoot-to-kill'

Armed police at the scene of a siege in Opunake. Photo / NZ Herald

Slain gunman Antony Ratahi's daughters are questioning why police shot to kill him in an armed stand-off.

Cassia Proebstel and Destony Ratahi appeared on Maori Television's Native Affairs this week asking why police shot their father during a 13-hour hostage siege in Taranaki town Opunake this month, Fairfax Media reported.

Ratahi, 46, armed with a gun, had taken former girlfriend Marcelle Beer captive and barricaded himself inside the Headlands Hotel.

Ms Ratahi said she did not know why police had to shoot her father in the head.

"They could have shot him somewhere else," she said.

Both daughters said Ratahi was a troubled and violent man, but police were trained to deal with those situations and they did not believe he had to be shot.

"As far as I'm concerned a bullet to the head is shoot-to-kill," Ms Proebstel said.

She got a telephone call from police at 3am on July 16 explaining the situation, she said.

"I asked them if someone could get the phone to my dad, so I could talk to him and try and tell him, 'what you are doing is wrong dad, you've still got kids out here'," she said.

Despite police agreeing to let her speak to her father she never got the chance, and about seven hours later Ratahi was shot.

Detective Inspector Chris Bensemann and senior officers, among them District Commander Russell Gibson and Superintendent Andrew Lovelock, met Ratahi's whanau this week.

Questions or concerns police were unable to answer at present, would be answered in time, the family was told.

- NZPA