A man who died after a police stand-off last month is being farewelled with full gang honours in West Auckland.
Trinity Elijah Duffy, 39, also known as James Helu, died hours after a stand-off with armed police executing a search warrant at his Newington Rd home in Henderson on February 24.
Police retreated and surrounded his property for several hours, attempting to negotiate with Duffy, who was intermittently live streaming on Facebook from inside the house.
Cordons were established and a stand-off ensued. He was found dead inside the home that evening when members of the Armed Offenders Squad ventured inside.
His death has been referred to the Coroner and is not being treated as suspicious.
Duffy was a patched member of the Head Hunters. He has been lying in state at the headquarters of the gang’s West Chapter in View Rd ahead of his burial at Waikumete Cemetery.
On Monday, he was taken in a convoy accompanied by a motorcycle procession from the pad around Auckland.
There was a low-key police presence around the pad and the cemetery but no checkpoints.
Members of other gangs, including the Hell’s Angels, Filthy Few and Killer Beez turned out to show their support.
The Eagle Helicopter monitored the procession as it moved around Auckland ahead of arriving at the cemetery.
Police said in a statement they would follow up any breaches of road rules.
“Police will be monitoring gang movements through the western suburbs of Waitematā for a tangi today, however there are no planned checkpoints in place.
”We have clear expectations around how we expect those involved to behave.
”Police will have zero tolerance for driving behaviour that puts other road users at risk.
”Any unlawful behaviour will be investigated and followed up with enforcement action.
A patched member of the Head Hunters at the scene told the Herald he viewed the police actions around the funeral and procession as harassment.
The procession of dozens of bikes spent about an hour riding around the city, stopping briefly for burnouts outside the home in Henderson where Duffy died.
Waitematā CIB Detective Inspector Kevin McNaughton earlier said the incident stemmed from a pre-planned search warrant for the gang member wanted for serious offending.
”Upon arrival, our staff were met with extreme hostility from the subject of the search warrant,” he said.
“Cordons were immediately put in place as a result, with some residents in the immediate vicinity evacuated as a precaution.
Police tried to speak to Duffy throughout the day, but he “repeatedly refused to engage” with officers, McNaughton said.
“An investigation will now commence into the man’s death on behalf of the Coroner. The Independent Police Conduct Authority will also be advised, as is standard procedure.
“Police would like to acknowledge the Henderson community for their co-operation and understanding, as they were disrupted by the cordons in place throughout the day,” McNaughton said.