The Northwestern Motorway shooting
I'm not an expert on police procedures so just a little bit of my opinion.
Herald got a nice illustration on how the whole thing happened.
First, under certain circumstances police in this country has the right to shoot to incapacitate or kill. In this case, the offender is armed and fired shots, dangerously speeding, threatening the safety of the general public, I would guess this is one of the circumstances that justifies the use of firearms.
So the death of an innocent civilian, 17 year old Halatau Naitoko is a case of whether the police should took more care, not the case of whether the police should fire shots in the first place.
As the Herald report shows, Naitoko's van is stopped just behind the gunman, and within the line of fire. The situation looked like this:
Police/AOS |------|Gunman|------|Naitoko in his van
I think the key is, whether the AOS knew the car behind the gunman got people in it or they were just too concentrated on the gunman. The police probably should took more care but I cannot see any wrongdoing in this case - police or even AOS are not Naval Seals so you should expect some of their shoots to miss, and unfortunately, Naitoko was caught in the line of fire. Gun battles may look exciting in the American TV series and Hollywood movies, but in real life, police need, and pressured to make split-second and sometimes random decisions, and that could lead to tragic consequences.
I don't think there's the need to charge whoever fired that shoot as AOS were simply doing their job. This is rather an unfortunate case for both police and the Naitoko family - if the police and gunman swap places, then Naitoko could be killed by gunman rather than the police - will that make the this case easier to swallow? Probably not, as some would still blame the police for not doing enough to protect the public.
This is one of the things that happened in the wrong place, probably in the wrong time as well.
If we blame police for doing their job then next time if something similar pops up, officers will be more hesitate to fire, worrying that if he/she got wrong then he/she may end up in jail, and put themselves and general public in a greater danger.
The Naitoko family are more than entitled to receive compensations from the crown as the police is responsible for his death, police should also apologise to the family, but hold someone accountable for doing their job is bit of a step too far. You may argue that AOS and police officers should receive more training, but that's the problem of the Police as a whole, not the responsibility of individual police officers.
The AOS are very highly trained, certainly not ordinary cops with guns. And Navy SEALs do miss. My brother is AOS, but in Porirua.
I think it's too early to decide what should happen in this case except to say that we should not pass judgement until the investigation has been completed. If there is evidence to suggest that the officer in question acted illegally or outside the relevant regulations and procedures, then he should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. If, as you state and I suspect, he was doing his job to the best of his ability under trying circumstances and a bullet unfortunately went the wrong way, then I agree, an official apology and compensation should be offered to the victim's family and the officer reinstated. But let's get the investigation done first.
And yes, I would say the same if it were my brother who pulled the trigger.
Sure no one can be 100% accurate all the time, but for people who watched too much and only American TV seres ... They would expect their police to do just that.
I just find it bit unfair for police/AOS that people made a habit of blaming the force regardless of what happened, even before the investigation is concluded.
And nice to know your brother's an AOS :)
They should be punished like every other civilian regardless of what the situation is!!!!! Them not being punished,makes other people think oh in order for me to seek revenge on someone I'll join the AOS because I wont be charged!!! Do you have a answer for that??? and who cares if your brother is in the AOS but nice to know you would treat him the same in a situation like this. But as for the officer being reinstated ahhhhhh NO who's to know he wont do it again THINK ABOUT IT!!
The offender should have been the one lying dead on the motorway not Tau:(:(:(
R.I.P Halatau Kianamanu Naitoko (Tau)
We miss you so much its been 4 days that you have been gone and we still weep for you and hope your ok.
Sel, you're absolutely right to say "The offender should have been the one lying dead on the motorway not Tau:(:(:("
However, justice can not be done without a proper investigation into the officer's actions. If it emerges he acted against procedure, then yes, he should be charged, given a proper trial, and if found guilty, punished just the same as any civilian.