"[I] yelled out...and he didn't drop the gun and I thought '****, now what?"
"...The last thing you want to do is frickin' shoot someone, but I didn't really have any option."
The IPCA ruled that police were justified in shooting Dick Keefe-Wilson.
Fearing for his colleague's wellbeing, Officer B aimed his police-issued M4 Bushmaster rifle at Dick Keefe-Wilson and fired.
The bullet hit the offender in the arm, forcing him to wince in pain and achieving the desired result of making him drop his weapon.
Officer A then attempted to put his dog in the rear of the campervan, but it was slippery with blood, so he entered it through the passenger's door instead.
Keefe-Wilson was high on methamphetamine. He screamed at the officer to get the dog away from him, but the officer commanded it to bite and it did, twice.
Officer A attempted to restrain the offender, along with other attending officers C and D, but that proved difficult.
"I couldn't believe how much he kept fighting," Officer A said.
"In my career I've had a few tussles with some meth-driven people and they're just on another planet and I just put it down that this guy's absolutely pinging on meth so pain's not an issue."
Keefe-Wilson was 22, high on methamphetamine and believed he was being chased by gang members, so fled to the holiday location near Hunterville on the day and drove his partner and her son to the camping ground in Ohingaiti.
Keefe-Wilson degraded his partner, swearing at her, driving his vehicle at her and aiming his rifle at tourists and other holidaymakers.
One of them called the police and four officers arrived at the scene. They were the first responders and knew the Armed Offenders Squad had been deployed.
However, they also knew that this was a man threatening others with a gun and that the AOS were coming from Palmerston North, about 60km away.
They put on their safety gear, reviewed their orders, contacted the communications centre and approached the camp on foot.
When they arrived, Keefe-Wilson was forcing a victim to drive the campervan while pointing his gun at him with other passengers also in the vehicle.
Somehow, they escaped unscathed.
Police central district commander Chris De Wattignar said the actions of the officers were in direct response to the life-threatening behavior of the offender.
"The officer was confronted by a violent individual and was put in a situation where they had no option but to use their firearm," De Wattignar said.
"This is the last step which any officer wants to take, however, they responded appropriately to the situation."
The authority also found that police armed themselves in accordance with policy, the deployment of a dog was lawful, they provided appropriate aftercare to Keefe-Wilson and exercised appropriate control and command over the incident.
Authority chair Judge Colin Doherty said it was reasonable and justified that police fired at Keefe-Wilson.
"Similarly, deployment of the Police dog was justified," Doherty said.
"The man has since pleaded guilty to multiple charges relating to this day, including charges of using a firearm against a law enforcement officer."
Keefe-Wilson pleaded guilty to charges six charges of kidnapping, two of using a firearm against law enforcement, two of assault with a weapon, unlawfully carrying a firearm and threatening to kill.
On September 19, he was sentenced to six years and three months imprisonment by Judge Charles Blackie in Whanganui District Court.
During court proceedings, Keefe-Wilson's counsel Jacinda Younger said her client had been addicted to methamphetamine since he was 12.
