A Bay of Plenty police officer who fired 14 shots at a car approaching his patrol vehicle feared he would be killed or seriously injured, an investigation from the police watchdog has found.
The Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) found the officer was justified in firing his pistol in self-defence during the incident on a forestry road near Rotorua on January 24, 2025.
Police had been searching the area for a man, Mr Z, who had intentionally rammed patrol vehicles on two separate occasions. His Hyundai had also been linked to petrol thefts.
At around 4.40pm on January 24, the man, wearing a balaclava and armed with a tyre iron, carried out an aggravated robbery on a shop on the outskirts on Rotorua before fleeing in the Hyundai.
Police located the vehicle on a nearby rural road shortly after 5pm and began a pursuit, before abandoning due to safety concerns.
Over the following hour and 50 minutes, officers spotted the Hyundai several times, during which the driver rammed one patrol care and attempted to hit another.
Road spikes were deployed, but only managed to damage one of the vehicle's rear tyres.
At around 6.53pm, the Hyundai drove down a dead-end forestry road and was followed by Officer A in a patrol car.
After encountering a locked gate, the man turned his vehicle around and rammed into the front side of the patrol car, rendering it "practically undriveable", before speeding away.
The officer managed to turn his damaged vehicle around and call for assistance. However, rather than continuing to flee, Mr Z stopped and began reversing towards the patrol car.
Fearing for his life, the officer fired his pistol 14 times at the approaching Hyundai, stopping when it struck Mr Z's vehicle.
"I believe my only option at this point to avoid either being killed or seriously injured was to discharge my firearm in the hopes he would stop driving towards and ramming me for a second time," the officer told the IPCA.
None of the 14 shots struck the driver, who had laid down across the front seats of the Hyundai. He escaped with a minor graze to his back.
After firing, the officer managed to force open his damaged patrol car door and moved to the rear of the vehicle, still holding his pistol. He then ordered the man to get out of the Hyundai and lie on the ground.
After about 15 seconds, two other officers arrived, and the man was taken into custody. He later pleaded guilty to multiple charges and received a prison sentence.
The IPCA accepted the officer had limited options and genuinely believed his life was in danger, concluding his decision to fire his weapon in self-defence was justified.
"We accept Officer A genuinely believed Mr Z presented a risk of serious harm or death. We also accept that Officer A understood Mr Z had previously acted dangerously and considered him to be likely armed with some kind of weapon, which elevated that risk," the report read.
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