Two police officers were justified in shooting dead a man on an Auckland motorway after he advanced at them wielding a machete, the Independent Police Conduct Authority found.
He was shot 12 times.
However, the Authority also found there was inadequate communication, control and command of the incident by police as a whole.
On March 31 last year, about 3.25am, Jerrim Toms was approached by police in car which was partially blocking a lane on State Highway 1 north of Wellsford.
When the officer tried to speak with him, Toms, who was under the influence of methamphetamine, cannabis and alcohol, got out of his vehicle with a machete. The officer retreated and called for backup.
Police pursued Toms, who was at times speeding and driving erratically with his headlights off for 40 minutes. Road spikes were used to try stop him on three occasions.
At one point while following him, Toms got out of his vehicle - he was violent and aggressive - using his machete to strike the window of the patrol vehicle while police officers were seated inside.
Toms stopped about a kilometre north of Johnstones Hill Tunnel, and despite calls from police officers to drop his weapon and to get on the ground, he has continued to walk towards them still holding the machete so police shot him.
He was shot by two officers, at about 1.5 metres, with 12 shots fired in about four seconds. The initial four shots caused two fatal injuries.
The Authority determined that, although eight of the 12 shots were fired after Mr Toms had turned and started running away from the officers, they were all legally justified as the officers were acting in self-defence and defence of others.
One officer honestly believed he had fired all his shots before Toms turned away (although other evidence indicated otherwise), while the other officer believed Toms had still posed a threat.
"Given Mr Toms' prior actions, it is therefore understandable that the officer's mind was focused on neutralising the threat that he believed he posed. As soon as Mr Toms dropped his weapon, the officer stopped firing," Authority Chair Judge Colin Doherty said.
Police immediately provided medical assistance but he died at the scene.
Waitemata District Commander Superintendent Naila Hassan said officers were left with no other option.
"These officers showed immense bravery in a high-risk situation dealing with an offender who was on methamphetamine and highly agitated. I really want to take this opportunity to acknowledge the two officers involved," she said.
A criminal investigation into the officers action found they acted in self-defence. The decision was backed up by a Crown Solicitor.
During the investigation, several witnesses came forward saying they saw Toms driving erratically, as well as a service station sole worker was threatened to be killed by Toms.
The Authority also found that:
After the death, Toms' family said he was holding a "blunt ornamental knife" and questioned why so many shots were fired.
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