Police on the scene at Oriana Crescent last year. Photo / File
The police officer who fired the shot that killed a man holding his young children at knifepoint during a 15-hour hostage siege in Tauranga has spoken of the moment their eyes locked before he pulled the trigger.
Findings released by the Independent Police Conduct Authority today revealed the officer was no more than three metres from the man when the shot was fired at 2.55pm on November 24 last year. The shooting was at a property on Oriana Cres, Bellevue.
The authority found that the shooting was justified because the man posed a lethal and imminent threat to his daughters, aged 6 and 4, whom he was holding hostage.
The man, his partner and two children had been at a party the night before where he had been involved in a fight and several altercations. When they arrived home, he barricaded his partner and the children inside, threatening the woman with a knife and saying she would be the reason his children would die that night.
The partner escaped and called police about 12.20am.
Police found the man barricaded in the wardrobe of an upstairs bedroom, holding a knife to one of his children. He swiped the knife at attending police. They were unable to negotiate with him and decided to withdraw.
The man followed, holding one of his daughters in front of him with a large knife to her throat. He began to count down, warning if they did not leave he would hurt the child.
The initial responders stayed outside and called the Armed Offenders Squad about 1.15am. Tauranga's Police Negotiation Team arrived about 2.20am but made little headway.
Two members of the Advanced Police Negotiation Team arrived about 9.15am but were unable to persuade the man to come out or allow his daughters out.
One of the negotiating team said: "He was saying 'you had better get out, this is my last stand'. He yelled that at us for about two to three minutes while I tried to speak with and reason with him. Every time I started to speak, he would yell the same thing over and over."
Another negotiator, who relieved others to prevent fatigue affecting the team, said: "He at times deliberately speaks over the top of me and attempts to bait me into arguing with him. He is unreasonable with his responses, with regard to the care and welfare of both children."
Officers believed the man to have been drunk and possibly high on methamphetamine. He was also known to suffer from significant mood swings and aggression, having assaulted his children in the past, the findings said.
Police also learned the man had been on steroids, considered to cause problems with anger management.
It was an extremely hot day in Tauranga and by early afternoon police received medical advice about the potentially deadly effects of the heat on the two young children, who were in an upstairs room with no ventilation.
As far as the police knew, the children had not had any food or water since the siege began, even though they had left bottles of water outside the bedroom door.
The man had twice requested police pass food and drink up to the bedroom using a rope out the window but these requests were refused.
IPCA chairman Judge Colin Doherty said this decision "was a critical one".
The findings said the authority would have expected to see documentation relating to this decision but understood the storming of the bedroom to save the children ultimately overtook the option of passing food or water through the window.
Police considered withdrawing from the scene to ease the pressure on the man but decided this was "too risky" given the two children inside, the findings said.
By 1.30pm, St John ambulance staff raised concerns for the children's wellbeing, advising that they could appear asleep but actually be unconscious, which could lead to organ failure. If a child reached 39C or higher for more than an hour, there is a 60 per cent mortality rate.
These concerns, combined with the man's history of violence and mental health issues, led the command team to order a forced entry into the bedroom via the upstairs window and door at 2.55pm to rescue the hostages, the findings said.
One of the officers who made the rescue told the authority that after using his shoulder to break through the barricaded door, he saw the man's "head in that low corner of the room and [he] had … his arms wrapped around [the girls] tightly. He was using them as [a] human shield, there's no other word for it, and … a massive … kitchen knife right against the chest of that girl."
The officer said he had "not a doubt" that "if we gave him a half sniff he was gonna... drive that knife into that girl".
Taser footage confirmed the knife threat.
The officer who fired the shot had been attempting to enter via the window at the time. Police were attempting to distract the man via the window while saving the children via the door.
The officer at the window found the man sitting on the bed facing him, with a child pulled tightly to his chest and holding a large knife with the point against the lower part of her throat.
"I do not recall [the man] saying anything, but his eyes locked with mine, his facial expression was wild and aggressive," the officer said.
"I believed in that moment that he was about to kill the child. This was self-evident in the manner in which he was holding the child and the knife and his actions the previous evening and throughout the day.
"It would … have only taken the slightest movement by [the man] to plunge the knife into the exposed neck or chest of the child."
The officer fired a single shot, killing the man.
The authority found the command and control of the siege was, in general, well-executed, although designating a family liaison officer would have benefited police and the man's family who were at the scene.
Members of the man's family complained that they should have been given the opportunity to speak directly with him or replace police with local iwi or a community Māori non-police negotiator.
Despite playing recorded messages from his partner, sister and martial arts mentor there was no progress. Use of a Māori negotiator was considered but the man showed no indication that he was in touch with his language or culture, the findings said.
Judge Doherty said: "There were many commendable aspects of this operation and it is clear to us that all officers at the scene were focused on the welfare of the children.
"However, it was the responsibility of the incident controller to look beyond negotiating tactics to a contingency plan to protect the wellbeing of the children until they were released or rescued.
"This included fully exploring all options to provide the reasonable necessities of life such as food and water. We accept that the immediate and serious threat that [the man] posed to his daughter when officers entered the bedroom justified the decision to shoot him."
Bay of Plenty District Commander Superintendent Andy McGregor said it was an "incredibly difficult situation for all those involved and officers did everything they could to resolve this situation peacefully under extremely stressful circumstances".
"This outcome is an absolute tragedy and the last thing any officer wants.
"At all times the priority of police was ensuring the safety of the two children who were at real risk of harm. I am confident that every decision made along the way was made to protect them.
"Our thoughts remain with the family and loved ones of the deceased, the children involved and the police staff who were faced with a very challenging situation."
