Officers’ decision to shoot a man with a shotgun outside a burning house in Auckland was justified, the police watchdog has found.
The decision comes after an Independent Police Conduct Authority investigation into the death of 55-year-old Tex Witika on November 29, 2021, in the Auckland suburb of Glen Eden.
The incident took place after a house fire was reported where gunshots were heard. There were also reports of a man with a gun at the same address.
Dozens of police cars rushed to the scene, where officers quickly set up cordons. They were joined by the Eagle helicopter circling above.
Witika was standing in a carport adjacent to the burning house, holding a shotgun and bringing out his dog before putting it behind a gate.
Three were shot in an armed incident in Glen Eden, and another was hit by a car while deploying spikes. (Source: 1News)
Officers attempted to communicate with him as they waited for the armed offenders squad to arrive.
An officer told the authority: “The offender made threats of violence. He had a firearm, he’d fired shots into the burning house, he presented that firearm at [an] attending police officer.
“He refused to comply with our instructions to give himself up, he was agitated, he was aggressive, he was an angry man.”
The armed offenders squad arrived 17 minutes after the first officers.
Following a “hurried briefing”, the team leader decided to use “less than lethal” tactics to arrest the man, shooting a sponge round at his stomach.
This was followed by a double stun grenade, and a dog was released – causing the man to retreat. The police dog followed Witika and was attacked by his dog.
In a single-file column, police followed the man around a corner behind the garage. They found Witika with his shotgun aimed at the police dog – he then pointed it at police.
The officer at the front of the column fired at Witika three times and was met with several shots from the shotgun. Three officers were hit and fell backwards.
“So, as he’s brought that muzzle around from right to left, sweeping it towards me, I too have formed a decision to shoot this male as I believe he was going to shoot and kill me at that moment,” the officer told the IPCA.
Another officer stepped in front and shot Witika, sending him crumpling to the ground. The same officer also shot Witika’s dog, which had latched onto the police dog.
An officer at the cordon shot at Witika through a fence after seeing his colleagues fall backwards.
“He was obviously trying to close the distance. The gun is pointed at them, so at this point, all I’m thinking is three of them are already dead or greatly injured, and now he’s about to shoot the other three, so, therefore, I need to shoot him - there’s no other option,” the officer said.
After suffering multiple gunshot wounds, Witika died at the scene. The injured officers were treated at Auckland City Hospital.
The IPCA found the officers were “justified” in their decisions to shoot Witika with sponge rounds and lethal rounds.
“However, there were inadequacies in the command and control of the incident which resulted in a decision-maker who was not sufficiently removed from the immediate threat to be able to provide sound guidance and direction as to what the circumstances reasonably required,” it said.
Police acknowledged the findings and said: “The decision to use lethal force is not something our officers ever want to do and is a last resort.”
Waitematā District Commander Superintendent Naila Hassan said officers were forced to make quick decisions when responding to the incident.
“I am very confident the officers involved took the only option available to them under the circumstances to prevent further harm,” Superintendent Hassan said.
“Our Police Commanders must make tactical decisions in highly complex and swiftly evolving situations to keep the public safe.
“Police continue to take every opportunity to learn and evolve as an organisation.
“This was a distressing incident for everyone involved.”
Police also acknowledged the “inadequacies” around the control of the incident “and this will form part of our ongoing learnings”.
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