As stated by Superintendent Will Loughrin, Bay of Plenty District Commander:
Police acknowledge the findings of the Independent Police Conduct Authority released today, where an officer was justified in firing a pistol in self-defence.
At around 4:40pm on 24 January 2025, Police were alerted to an aggravated robbery at a store in Rotorua. The alleged offender left the scene in a vehicle, which Police then saw travelling on a nearby rural road just after 5pm.
Police signalled for the vehicle to stop and pursued for a short time after it failed to stop, before abandoning the pursuit soon after due to the associated risks with the manner of driving.
The vehicle was seen a number of times over the next two hours. During this time, the vehicle collided with one Police vehicle and attempted to hit another, before it was successfully spiked.
Just before 7pm, the vehicle drove down a dead-end road, followed by Police. It then turned around, collided with a Police vehicle once again, before attempting to leave the area.
Closely followed by the damaged Police vehicle, the vehicle then stopped and reversed, hitting the Police vehicle again.
The officer, still inside his vehicle then fired a number of shots at the offending vehicle as they now had immediate fears for their safety. The man driving was not struck or injured by any fired rounds.
Police welcome the IPCA's findings that the officer was justified in firing his pistol in self-defence, as he feared for his safety.
This response escalated extremely quickly when the offender began using his vehicle as a weapon and was showing intent to cause significant harm or injury to my staff.
The situation was fast-moving and I am proud of the actions of the officer, who not only was able to get himself to safety, but bring an end to a dangerous situation.
Police officers go to work every day to keep the public safe, but it is also important that they themselves can be safe, we want them to be able to go home to their loved ones at the end of each shift.
