Man cleared of attempting to murder police officer

A man who was shot three times by a police officer during a violent incident has been cleared of attempted murder.

Michael Sam Aliimatafitafi, aged 37, was charged with attempting to kill acting Sergeant Jason Lunjevich with a machete outside a property in Eskdale Rd, Birkdale in April last year.

The jury in the High Court at Auckland was hung on an alternative count of attempting to wound the officer with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. He now faces a re-trial on this charge.

He was also cleared on four other charges of assaulting two other officers and two security guards with the machete, though no one was actually hurt.

The jury delivered the verdict at 10.45pm last night.

The jury was told that despite being pepper sprayed and shot by Mr Lunjevich, Aliimatafitafi kept closing on the officer with the weapon.

In his closing address on Tuesday, prosecutor Howard Lawry said that the first two bullets did not stop the enraged Aliimatafitafi as he "zeroed in" on the officer with the machete.

"Jason Lunjevich can thank that third bullet for his being alive today, no question of that at all."

Only one more step (by Aliimatafitafi) and the officer would not be alive," he said.

The incident started when Aliimatafitafi and his father, both hard of hearing, were playing music by Maria Callas, Johann Strauss and Celine Dion turned up loud on their stereo.

It escalated when a neighbour complained and an Armourguard employee, contracted by the North Shore City Council - but who it emerged during the trial was not warranted - told the Aliimatafitafis to turn the volume down.

Instead, Mr Aliimatafitafi Snr turned the music up.

Police were called to seize the stereo.

Aliimatafitafi was said to have brandished a machete at the police and noise control officers who then withdrew.

During the incident, Mr Aliimatafitafi Snr took the stereo up the driveway and smashed it in front of police who then tried to arrest him for disorderly behaviour.

Defence counsel, Charles Cato, said that there was evidence that the police manhandled and batoned the 65-year-old around the leg.

He said that seeing his father treated in that way was the trigger for Aliimatafitafi's reaction.

"He took this weapon only to scare, to frighten the police officer so that he could take his father back inside," Mr Cato told the jury.

Aliimatafitafi earlier told the jury that without the weapon, the police would have dealt to him too.

Mr Cato said that while the police were not on trial, they did not check the noise control officers' authority in the face of two annoyed people, particularly as the stereo was not on when they arrived.

What had started out as father and son sitting on their verandah listening to music had escalated into a near-disaster, and it was a miracle that his client was still alive.

Mr Lawry said that the case was not about whether the Armourguard officer was warranted or not, nor was it about the police shooting of Aliimatafitafi.

In his summing up, Justice Christopher Allan observed that Aliimatafitafi was the only person injured.

- NZ HERALD