Accused: I wanted to get out

John Skinner. Photo / NZPA

Murder accused John Skinner has denied he had a "convenient" memory lapse to cover up what the Crown alleges happened the night Sergeant Don Wilkinson was shot dead.

Skinner told his murder trial at the High Court at Auckland yesterday he could remember firing only once before his memory went blank.

The 37-year-old has pleaded not guilty to murdering Mr Wilkinson on September 11, 2008 and the attempted murder of another policeman, known only as Officer M.

He and Iain Lindsay Clegg, 33, confronted Mr Wilkinson and Officer M near Skinner's Mangere home after catching them trying to install a tracking device on a car in Skinner's driveway.

Clegg has also denied charges of murder and attempted murder.

Skinner said he demanded to know what the officers were doing and got no reply. He claimed Mr Wilkinson moved his hand toward his waist - an action he interpreted as reaching for a gun.

Fearing for his life, he fired. The next thing he clearly remembered was being outside his home.

The Crown alleges Officer M's wounds were inflicted before Skinner turned his air rifle on to Mr Wilkinson.

Skinner denies the allegations. He can only recall firing once in what he says was self-defence.

Crown prosecutor Simon Moore, SC, said the memory lapse was a "convenient way to avoid difficult questions", to which Skinner replied, "no it's not true".

"You could never justify shooting [Officer M] in self defence because he had his hands up and was no threat at all. You had to construct this story about Sergeant Don Wilkinson going for a gun because you couldn't afford to accept that [Officer M] was the first person shot by you.

"I put it to you you knew exactly what you were doing that night ... You knew the power of that gun."

Skinner: "No."

"You intended to cause really serious bodily harm to Sergeant Wilkinson and at very least you intended to kill [Officer M]." Skinner: "No."

Mr Moore said it was his intention to "eliminate" the threat Mr Wilkinson posed to him.

"The way you were going to prevent the threat was to eliminate it."

Skinner: "There was no thoughts, no thinking. It was just an action."

The prosecutor continued: "You pulled the trigger [and] the intention was to eliminate the threat wasn't it? You knew by eliminating that threat you had to stop that person doing what they were doing."

Skinner "couldn't agree" because they were thoughts he would have had to have "consciously made. But I had no thoughts. I just acted."

He said he never wanted to eliminate anyone. He just wanted "to save himself and get out of there".

Defence witness John Howatt, a gunshop owner since 1969, said most people seemed to think of air rifles as toys and not particularly dangerous.

He said he wasn't aware of a fatality from an air rifle in New Zealand before Mr Wilkinson's death, but he knew of international examples.

He said a gun like Skinner's could seriously injure someone but it would be an unlucky shot or a fluke to kill someone if it was aimed at the chest.

Mr Moore, in cross-examination, asked if he still adhered to the use of the word "fluke" to describe the fatal shot. Mr Howatt replied it "wasn't an aimed shot, it was a chance shot".

However, if he was faced with an air rifle pointed at him from 5m away he would have been "totally and absolutely frightened" and would have tried to move out of the way.