Northland Age
  • Northland Age home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Rural
  • Opinion
  • Kaitaia weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Far North
  • Kaitaia
  • Kaikohe
  • Bay of Islands
  • Whangārei

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whangārei
  • Dargaville

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 / Northland Age

Northland police apologise for poorly treating grieving family

Karina Cooper
By Karina Cooper
News Director·Northern Advocate·
28 May, 2021 05:00 PM3 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

Northland district commander Superintendent Tony Hill has publicly apologised on behalf of Northland police for the added distress officers caused a grieving family. Photo / NZME

Northland district commander Superintendent Tony Hill has publicly apologised on behalf of Northland police for the added distress officers caused a grieving family. Photo / NZME

Northland police have apologised to a Kaitaia whānau they treated poorly when a member of their family died in a road tragedy more than two years ago.

Marino William Leef, 46, died in March 2019 when the motorcycle he was riding collided with a car on State Highway 12 in Omanaia, in the Hokianga.

In the wake of his death, his grief-stricken whānau felt let down by Northland police, who provided them with confusing information about the location of Leef's body and the circumstances around the crash.

Police also failed to inform them an investigation into the crash was being carried out – it eventually resulted in charges being laid against the other motorist involved.

Northland district commander Superintendent Tony Hill apologised for the ill-treatment of Leef's grieving whānau by police.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"We express our condolences to the whānau for their loss and for our shortcomings, which we acknowledge caused them further distress at a difficult time," he said. "The level of service provided was below the high standards that we expect from our staff and that our community deserve, particularly when a whānau is grieving a loved one."

A relative of Leef lodged a formal complaint with the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) outlining their grievances with Northland police.

"We acknowledge that communication provided to the whānau by police following Mr Leef's death and the subsequent investigation could have been better," Hill said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The IPCA oversaw a police investigation into the complaint – the outcome of which prompted the public apology, along with improvements.

Hill said talks with Leef's whānau highlighted how Northland police needed to ensure it improved the cultural awareness of its staff.

"We aim to use this case as a learning opportunity to work together with Mr Leef's whānau to improve our staff's cultural awareness and our interactions with the community."

Hill said the officers who dealt with Leef's whānau had been spoken with.

The IPCA deemed the police's in-depth review of the matter – which included the conversations between police and Leef's whānau – as "open and respectful" as well as "appropriate".

"Police have met with the whānau to discuss their concerns and acknowledge the mistakes made and are working collaboratively to make amends and ensure these mistakes are not repeated," a statement by the IPCA read.

The Leef whānau said they did not wish to comment, at this stage.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Northland Age

Northland Age

Gone without a trace: Northland's stolen cabin problem

23 Jun 06:00 PM
Northland Age

Far north news in brief: Far North pet registrations, angling boosts economy

23 Jun 05:00 PM
Northland Age

Council confirms fluoride systems for Kerikeri and Kaitāia water supplies

23 Jun 02:00 AM

Kaibosh gets a clean-energy boost in the fight against food waste

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Northland Age

Gone without a trace: Northland's stolen cabin problem

Gone without a trace: Northland's stolen cabin problem

23 Jun 06:00 PM

Most thefts were in Kaikohe and Whangārei, with five in Kaikohe.

Far north news in brief: Far North pet registrations, angling boosts economy

Far north news in brief: Far North pet registrations, angling boosts economy

23 Jun 05:00 PM
Council confirms fluoride systems for Kerikeri and Kaitāia water supplies

Council confirms fluoride systems for Kerikeri and Kaitāia water supplies

23 Jun 02:00 AM
Cancer survivor raises $13k with 1100km ride for hospice care

Cancer survivor raises $13k with 1100km ride for hospice care

23 Jun 02:00 AM
Engage and explore one of the most remote places on Earth in comfort and style
sponsored

Engage and explore one of the most remote places on Earth in comfort and style

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
  • The Northland Age e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to The Northland Age
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The Northland Age
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • 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
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP