Problematic rifle posed safety risk

Police carrying Bushmaster rifles. Photo / Sarah Ivey

An internal police report warned of potential "public safety" dangers stemming from its Bushmaster rifle - a month after innocent teenager Halatau Naitoko was accidentally shot dead on an Auckland motorway.

Inquiries by the Herald on Sunday have also found that there has been no formal review of the training or operational use by police of the weapon since it was introduced in 2005.

Naitoko, 17, was killed by a police officer armed with a Bushmaster 13 months ago after being caught up in crossfire during a police pursuit.

Cops had been attempting to shoot at Stephen McDonald, who had earlier fired on police during an hour-long, P-fuelled rampage through Auckland streets. The inquest into Naitoko's death, which was adjourned while police sought name suppression, begins next month.

But documents released to the Herald on Sunday from Police National Headquarters reveal the Bushmaster rifles used by police in training were plagued by problems over the period of Naitoko's death.

The Bushmaster was introduced in 2005. It replaced the bolt-action rifles police had previously used.

Problems first emerged in 2006 after a study of 18 rifles, according to an email from the New Zealand Police National Armoury to police headquarters in Wellington.

The email, written by a firearms expert, speculated that rifle barrels were being damaged because of sound suppressors that had been fitted to reduce noise, allowing police to comply with health and safety laws.

Without the suppressors, the noise of the rifles was excessive - but the sound-dampening attachment also forced material back into the barrel of the rifle when a bullet was fired.

Further studies in April 2007 found the rifle barrels were also suffering from the type of ammunition used in training, and a lack of cleaning.

Yet police documents show no action was taken until February 2009, when a new report asked for $130,000 to buy new rifle barrels and other equipment to fix the problem. The report stated that the problem posed "a risk to public and police safety".

Police bosses were told that risks also included an inability to carry out proper firearms training for frontline staff and recruits.

The request for funding came a month after Naitoko was killed by an officer using a Bushmaster.

Police operations national manager superintendent Tony McLeod said there was no connection between the Naitoko death and the problems that had affected Bushmasters used in training.

He said the damage the rifles had suffered would not affect them for 18 months to two years after it was identified. It meant the risks identified had yet to occur.

"The death of Mr Naitoko was extremely sad and regrettable. The staff involved in that were trained and qualified."