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Man shot after threatening police

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Thu, 20 Oct 2011 7:18a.m.

The armed offenders squad had carried out a search looking for the man

The armed offenders squad had carried out a search looking for the man

A 48-year-old man is in a stable condition after being shot by police early this morning.

The shooting occurred after the man approached a police officer in the Hawke’s Bay, claiming he had a gun and was going to shoot the officer after being pulled over just before midnight.

Earlier in the evening, the armed offenders squad had carried out a search looking for the man in connection with several incidents, including a domestic assault and attempting to ram a police car.

Eastern District Commander Superintendent Sam Hoyle says the man approached the police car in an aggressive manner and told the officer standing by the car that he had a gun and was going to kill him. As he advanced on the officer he was concealing something in his sweatshirt pocket.

Mr Hoyle said the officer backed off from the offender, warning him several times to show his hands and that police were armed. The officer fired a single shot at him, hitting him in the torso. As the police officers struggled to restrain him on the ground, he told them he had a grenade and was going to "blow them all up".

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Comments

27 Oct 2011 09:33a.m.

jan.. wrote:

The Police should have had a sleeping gas before any obstruction where the opposition wasn't firing but a threats of words per mouth was his weapon is the example of someone playing with fire gets burned or injured in the act of actions..

22 Oct 2011 01:49p.m.

Brett wrote:

@ Wiseacre... ask yourself this... was there a taser available? How far away from the Police was this guy before he got shot as the taser has a maximum range of 4 mtrs and remember you only get one shot and hope to hell it works as there have been plenty of malfunctions

21 Oct 2011 10:53a.m.

Greg wrote:

He may not have been armed but then his actions indicated he was! He approached armed Police clearly stating he was going TO SHOOT THEM! and still advanced on them when they were giving him instructions while keeping his hands in his pockets. How the hell do you expect the Police to read that guys brain and know he isn't carrying a gun in his pocket/sweatshirt. The officer had to take action and even when they went to administer first aid the guy still said he was going to blow them all up with a hand grenade.

21 Oct 2011 09:50a.m.

Wiseacre wrote:

The man was unarmed. That may not have been apparent in the moment, but why go straight for a gun as the default option? Isn't this why Tasers were introduced? To reduce the need for general arming of the Police? The only act of violence in this case was the violence conducted by the Police.

21 Oct 2011 08:46a.m.

Ruz wrote:

An early National Radio news item I heard suggested the man had a hand grenade in his pocket. But as it turned out there was no hand grenade, no gun and no tank.

21 Oct 2011 02:11a.m.

Robert W wrote:

The guy was obviously deluded. I know the procedure. He would have been instructed to lay on the ground in a submissive position. He continued to threaten the police with an imaginary weapon that they could'nt see. For their own safety, the police followed the correct procedure.

20 Oct 2011 07:23p.m.

Brett wrote:

Ummm... seems he wasn't armed but after reading all of that it's pretty self explanatory that the shooting was justified!

20 Oct 2011 04:34p.m.

Glenn wrote:

No he wasn't armed. This at a time when the police are asking to be armed, why? so they can shoot more unarmed people?

20 Oct 2011 01:50p.m.

Nick wrote:

Um, I care that's why i asked the question.

20 Oct 2011 01:05p.m.

Bublitz wrote:

Who cares if he was armed he got what he deserved.