The police dog handler who was shot in the face in Christchurch this month says he thought he was going to die as he was being driven to hospital.
Senior Constable Bruce Lamb said today that being shot in a house in suburban Phillipstown on July 13 was like being kicked in the head. After the immediate impact he felt little pain as he held his face and could feel broken jaw bones and teeth.
As he escaped from the house where the shooting took place, Mr Lamb said that by the time he reached the end of the driveway he realised he was dragging his dog Gage, which would have been dead by that stage.
However, because of the nature of the dog and the difficulty for other handlers, his first thoughts were to get the dog into his car until he realised Gage was dead.
The dog had been on the leash the whole time and he did what police dogs are trained to do - to protect their handler, he said.
"It was all pretty fast and exceptionally scary. We didn't expect to be confronted," Mr Lamb told a media conference.
To help retain consciousness he gave himself goals of recognising the name of each street as he was taken by patrol car to hospital.
"I was sure I was going to die."
Mr Lamb is already due to receive a commendation for attending another shooting incident just days before, when a routine patrol encountered an armed resident.
He said Gage was a strong willed dog and quite hard to restrain as a result but he was the best dog he ever had.
In the days after the incident Mr Lamb told his fellow dog handlers that he didn't want to see Gage and he should just be cremated.
But his mates decided otherwise and arranged for a ceremony at his home where the body of the dog was piped in wearing a dog vest and wrapped in police colours.
"I toasted him with a drink of port, although it was difficult sipping it through a straw."
Asked whether the killing of a dog should attract the same penalties as that of a police officer.
"No. As much as he was a great mate and the most fantastic dog I've ever had he's still a dog. It can't be compared to the killing of a human being."
Mr Lamb has 30 years experience in the police and 23 as a dog handler.
He remains off work and is recuperating as he faces more operations. He has to take food through a tube until he can eat properly again and has lost weight as a result.
He said he was currently looking at a black Labrador puppy but was uncertain if he would return to work as a dog handler.
Earlier this week five new charges were laid against the man accused of shooting Mr Lamb in the jaw and Constable Mitchel Alatalo in the leg and killing Gage.
Christopher Graeme Smith, 34, a process worker of Phillipstown was further remanded in custody for a post-committal conference on September 10.
The officers were shot when they attempted to a search a property where cannabis cultivation was suspected.
Smith already faced charges of attempting to murder the officers, killing Gage, using a firearm against a third policeman, unlawful possession of an offensive weapon - a pig knife - and cultivating cannabis.
The new charges were unlawful possession of a Stirling .22 semi-automatic rifle, a .22 bolt-action rifle and a Mauser 6.55mm rifle, possession of cannabis and using a firearm against a fourth police officer.
On a further charge of possession of cannabis, he was remanded to a status hearing on August 10.
Smith's brother Steven Paul Smith also faces drugs and firearms charges.
NZPA
Watch the full news conference held earlier today.