Tarawera River. Photo / NZH
A Mongrel Mob member drowned after jumping into a river to avoid being arrested by police, a coroner has found.
Norman Lee Te Rangi was 24 when he died on June 27, 2019. Four years later, a coroner has released a finding into his death.
The finding of Coroner Matthew Bates has recently been released to the Rotorua Daily Post and said Te Rangi entered the Tarawera River while trying to evade police. He was seen swimming downstream with the current before police briefly lost sight of him.
When police found him, they tried to resuscitate him, but they and other emergency services who arrived at the scene were unable to revive him.
The finding said Te Rangi was unemployed and was well-known to police as a patched Mongrel Mob member who lived on Holyoake Cres in Kawerau with associates.
At the time of his death, he had outstanding warrants for his arrest relating to wilful damage and breaching court release conditions issued in September and October 2018 respectively.
During the eight months after the warrants were issued, Te Rangi was involved in a number of incidents including violent assaults which resulted in more warrants for his arrest, the coroner’s finding said.
Police tried several times to find Te Rangi but he evaded arrest on several occasions, often with the help of others, the finding said.
Police tried using the media to get the public’s help to find Te Rangi and an appeal for information about his whereabouts was put out publicly.
On June 27, police were told Te Rangi was at a Bowen St house in Kawerau and arrived about 1.50pm to find him.
But Te Rangi climbed out a window and ran from the property. He ran through several other properties while being chased by three police officers on foot. Other police officers left in their vehicles to set up cordons, the finding said.
Te Rangi ran through the local high school grounds and scaled a 1.8-metre-high fence before entering the Tarawera River.
He was seen swimming out to the middle of the river and then using breaststroke to move along with the current.
Police followed him along the bank appealing for him to give himself up, but he didn’t respond.
He was seen occasionally diving below the surface and swimming underneath the water.
Due to a curve in the river and vegetation on the riverbank, police briefly lost sight of him. When they saw him again, he was submerged face-down in the water.
The finding said two officers entered the river to get Te Rangi and described the waist-deep water as very cold with a strong current.
It had initially appeared as if Te Rangi was still swimming below the surface of the water as his arms were moving, but his fists were clenched and his eyes were open, the finding said.
The officers pulled him to the bank and tried to revive him but he was unresponsive. Officers were helped a short time later by members of the local fire service who had a defibrillator. A local doctor and nurse also arrived to help, followed by ambulance staff who continued resuscitation efforts.
Despite initiating procedures including inserting a tube into Te Rangi and an IV line, he remained unresponsive and was declared dead at the scene at 2.55pm.
A post-mortem was carried out and noted Te Rangi had a healing superficial “incised wound” to the left chest and faint red contusions to both wrists, consistent with wrist restraints, the finding said.
There were rib fractures consistent with resuscitation efforts, but there were no other signs of injury.
A toxicology report found he had methamphetamine consistent with recreational use in his system. Cannabis and its active ingredient THC were also confirmed in his blood.
His death was reported to the Independent Police Conduct Authority but it didn’t become the subject of an investigation. However, the finding said the authority oversaw the police investigation and found police acted appropriately. Police were found to have made “every effort to save” Te Rangi and the two officers who entered the water put themselves at risk while doing so.
Bates concluded Te Rangi died from freshwater drowning and his death was in accidental circumstances.
Kelly Makiha is a senior journalist who has reported for the Rotorua Daily Post for more than 25 years, covering mainly police, court, human interest and social issues.