Police witnesses tell High Court jury of gang 'chaos' at Whakatane Mongrel Mob funeral procession

The trial is under way in the High Court at Rotorua. Photo / File

As he attempted to "shoo" a group of Mongrel Mob members back as they advanced towards Black Power rivals Detective Steven Burborough heard a pop.

"It might sound a bit weird but at first I didn't realise it was a gunshot. Yeah, there was material hitting the road, then the penny dropped it was shotgun shots. It was all a little bit in slow motion," he told a Rotorua High Court jury of five men and seven women.

The five men and seven women are trying Whakatane Black Power gang members Benjamin Biddle, Stallone Harawira, Whitu Taipeti, Codie Taitapanui, Te Reneti Tarau and Taumata Tawhai charged in the wake of an armed riot between Black Power and Mongrel Mob members at Whakatane on January 17 last year.

Burborough outlined this afternoon how he and his Rotorua colleagues moved to the front of a Mongrel Mob group advancing down Arawa Rd towards a posse of Black Power members or affiliates as tensions between the rivals escalated. "We were telling them 'come on fellas, go back to your funeral'."

Referring to the general melee that greeted him on arriving in Whakatane the Rotorua detective said he had seen a lot of people posturing, "puffing themselves up" and yelling aggressively.

He told of seeing a Black Power member with a shotgun, then another with a rifle.

"Obviously that was a lot more dangerous. I yelled out 'one of them's got a rifle'. Everyone was getting off the road, I looked back and he was pointing it in the air."

The group got into a car, made a U-turn, and sped off.

Questioned by prosecutor Richard Jenson, he said he identified each gang by their colours, red for the Mongrel Mob, while Black Power wore blue.

To Tawhai's lawyer, Gene Tomlinson, Burborough agreed the noise he heard was consistent with birdshot hitting the ground.

Detective Christopher Wharton described the scene that greeted him when he arrived at the Valley-Arawa roads intersection as a "sea of red".

Some in the group called him over and pointed to Black Power gathered in Arawa Rd.
opposite them.

"They [Black Power] were trying to intimidate the Mongrel Mob. I saw one of the Mob members with a bat or pole gesturing at the Black Power to come and meet them. The Mongrel Mob was inching up behind us [police]. I saw someone in the Black Power group with something in their hands. At first I thought it was a bat or pole then I realised it was the butt of a rifle."

Because he was unarmed he made a dash for cover.

Another Rotorua officer, senior constable Simon Robinson, told of seeing a "short, fat fella waving a baseball bat like a taiaha" as the Mongrel Mob surged down Arawa Rd.

"He was obviously winding everyone up."

Seven Rotorua police officers testified today telling how they sped to Whakatane when the call for back-up came after tensions escalated when a 100-plus vehicle funeral procession for a senior Mongrel Mob member arrived at Whakatane's outskirts.

The procession had come from Kawerau into an area regarded as Black Power territory which was the cause of the animosity between the opposing factions.

The Rotorua police confirmed they had armed themselves with either rifles, Glock pistols or Tasers and donned body armour before leaving home base.

With the exception of Taipete, the defendants are charged with rioting, participating in an organised criminal group, unlawful possession of a firearm, using a firearm against a law enforcement officer, and discharging a firearm with reckless disregard for the safety of others. They have denied all counts.

Taipete has pleaded not guilty to the firearms-related charges, having earlier pleaded guilty to the rioting and criminal group charges.

The trial before Justice Graham Lang is proceeding.