Printed from https://fyi.org.nz/request/9614-information-about-a-vehicle-pursuit-and-firearms-discharged-by-police-officers on December 31, 2024 18:38

Information about a vehicle pursuit and firearms discharged by Police officers

Hugh Davenport made this Official Information request to New Zealand Police

The request was refused by New Zealand Police.

From: Hugh Davenport

Dear New Zealand Police,

I would like to request the following information about a car pursuit in Manurewa, South Auckland on 31st January, as displayed on media at https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/artic..., https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zeala..., and video shown at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7_P0mVX....

The information requested is:

1) How many shots were fired by the Police
2) For each shot fired by the Police,
a) Who was the officer who fired (name and/or badge number),
b) Was that officer an armed offenders squad member,
c) What was the target of the shot fired
d) Was the target hit?
e) If the target was not hit, where did the shot go?
f) What hazards existed in the firing zone?
g) When was the firearm retrieved from the weapons safe
h) Which weapons safe was the firearm retrieved from
3) For each officer involved with the shooting
a) What was the outcome of any investigation
b) Was any stand-down period applied
4) Were any firearms retrieved after the suspect was detained
5) Were any firearms seen to leave the vehicle during the pursuit
6) Were any shots fired by the suspect during the pursuit, if so, then
a) How many were directed at Police
b) How many were directed at bystanders
c) How many shots hit any human and/or animal
7) When did the pursuit start, and when did each Police vehicle join and/or leave the pursuit?
8) When were the armed offenders squad called to the pursuit?
9) At any point during the pursuit, was there any risks identified that could have suggested calling off the pursuit? For example, high speed pursuit in a built up urban zone with a large number of bystanders, the use of spikes and/or firing shots at tyres in an attempt to cause the vehicle to skid during a high speed pursuit in a built up urban zone with a large number of bystanders, the use of firearms in a build up urban zone with large number of bystanders.

Yours faithfully,

Hugh Davenport

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New Zealand Police

'Do not reply to this message, this email message has been sent from an
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Thank you for your email Hugh.
 

Your email has been forwarded to the appropriate department.   

 
 
Please email us again at [1][New Zealand Police request email] if we can help you
any further.
 
Regards
 
New Zealand Police
 
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===============================================================

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The information contained in this email message is intended for the
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From: FOUNTAIN, Nicholas
New Zealand Police

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Hello Hugh

I acknowledge receipt of your Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) request
for the information below.
Your request is being actioned pursuant to the OIA.

Ngā mihi

 

Nick Fountain

Ministerial Services Advisor

Police National Headquarters

 

E [1][email address]

 

[2]wordmark transparent

 

 

From: Hugh Davenport <[3][FOI #9614 email]>
Date: 18/02/2019 09:54AM
Subject: Official Information request - Information about a vehicle
pursuit and firearms discharged by Police officers

Dear New Zealand Police,

I would like to request the following information about a car pursuit in
Manurewa, South Auckland on 31st January, as displayed on media at [4] 
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/artic...  
, [5] 
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zeala...
, and video shown at [6] 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7_P0mVX... .

The information requested is:

1) How many shots were fired by the Police
2) For each shot fired by the Police,  

 a) Who was the officer who fired (name and/or badge number),
b) Was that officer an armed offenders squad member,
c) What was the target of the shot fired
  d) Was the target hit?
e) If the target was not hit, where did the shot go?
f) What hazards existed in the firing zone?
 g) When was the firearm retrieved from the weapons safe
h) Which weapons safe was the firearm retrieved from

 3) For each officer involved with the shooting
  a) What was the outcome of any investigation
b) Was any stand-down period applied
4) Were any firearms retrieved after the suspect was detained
5) Were any firearms seen to leave the vehicle during the pursuit
6) Were any shots fired by the suspect during the pursuit, if so, then   

a) How many were directed at Police
b) How many were directed at bystanders
c) How many shots hit any human and/or animal

  7) When did the pursuit start, and when did each Police vehicle join
and/or leave the pursuit?
  8) When were the armed offenders squad called to the pursuit?
9) At any point during the pursuit, was there any risks identified that
could have suggested calling off the pursuit? For example, high speed
pursuit in a built up urban zone with a large number of bystanders, the
use of spikes and/or firing shots at tyres in an attempt to cause the
vehicle to skid during a high speed pursuit in a built up urban zone with
a large number of bystanders, the use of firearms in a build up urban zone
with large number of bystanders.

Yours faithfully,

Hugh Davenport

-------------------------------------------------------------------

This is an Official Information request made via the FYI website.

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[7][FOI #9614 email]

Is [8][New Zealand Police request email] the wrong address for Official
Information requests to New Zealand Police? If so, please contact us using
this form:
  [9]  https://fyi.org.nz/change_request/new?bo...

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
  [10]https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers  

If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please
ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA
page.

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From: Hugh Davenport

Dear FOUNTAIN, Nicholas,

I remind the Police that this request is overdue now (due March 18th). Can this please get responded to.

Yours sincerely,

Hugh Davenport

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From: Hugh Davenport

Dear New Zealand Police,

I remind the Police that this request is overdue now (due March 18th). Can this please get responded to.

Yours faithfully,

Hugh Davenport

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From: Hugh Davenport

Dear New Zealand Police,

I remind you that this is overdue (due March 18), and that the NZ Police are not above the law. Can this please be responded to.

Yours faithfully,

Hugh Davenport

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From: Hugh Davenport

Dear New Zealand Police,

Can I please get a response to this overdue request today. If not, I will be reporting to Ombudsman.

Yours faithfully,

Hugh Davenport

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From: MCMAHON, Teresa
New Zealand Police

Dear Mr Davenport

I refer to your request below for information about an incident in
Manurewa on 31 January.  I must first apologise for the delay in
responding to you.

The matters you have asked about are the subject of a police
investigation. The information you have requested is therefore refused
pursuant to section 6(c) of the Official Information Act 1982 as the
making available of the information is likely to prejudice the maintenance
of the law including the prevention, investigation and detection of
offences and the right to a fair trial.

 

You have the right to complain to the Ombudsman in writing to seek an
investigation and review of my decision if you are not satisfied with the
way I have responded to your request.

 

Ministerial Services

Police National Headquarters

 

 

 

I would like to request the following information about a car pursuit in
Manurewa, South Auckland on 31st January, as displayed on media at
[1]https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/artic...
,
[2]https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zeala...
, and video shown at
[3]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7_P0mVX... .

The information requested is:

1) How many shots were fired by the Police
2) For each shot fired by the Police,

a) Who was the officer who fired (name and/or badge number),
b) Was that officer an armed offenders squad member,
c) What was the target of the shot fired
d) Was the target hit?
e) If the target was not hit, where did the shot go?
f) What hazards existed in the firing zone?
g) When was the firearm retrieved from the weapons safe
h) Which weapons safe was the firearm retrieved from

3) For each officer involved with the shooting
a) What was the outcome of any investigation
b) Was any stand-down period applied
4) Were any firearms retrieved after the suspect was detained
5) Were any firearms seen to leave the vehicle during the pursuit
6) Were any shots fired by the suspect during the pursuit, if so, then

a) How many were directed at Police
b) How many were directed at bystanders
c) How many shots hit any human and/or animal

7) When did the pursuit start, and when did each Police vehicle join
and/or leave the pursuit?
8) When were the armed offenders squad called to the pursuit?
9) At any point during the pursuit, was there any risks identified that
could have suggested calling off the pursuit? For example, high speed
pursuit in a built up urban zone with a large number of bystanders, the
use of spikes and/or firing shots at tyres in an attempt to cause the
vehicle to skid during a high speed pursuit in a built up urban zone with
a large number of bystanders, the use of firearms in a build up urban zone
with large number of bystanders.

Yours faithfully,

Hugh Davenport

-------------------------------------------------------------------

This is an Official Information request made via the FYI website.

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[4][FOI #9614 email]

Is [5][New Zealand Police request email] the wrong address for Official
Information requests to New Zealand Police? If so, please contact us using
this form:
[6]https://fyi.org.nz/change_request/new?bo...

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
[7]https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers

If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please
ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA
page.

show quoted sections

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Hugh Davenport left an annotation ()

I'm debating pushing back, for a partial release at least. Points 1-3 being released I really can't see how that would prejudice the investigation, as it is about the Police's actions, rather than the offenders. It shouldn't interfere with a fair trial as well.

Outcome I'm wanting, is to make sure that the Police are handling firearms correctly, and not just firing wildly as it appears in the video. The last time which in Auckland resulted in a death of an innocent person as they didn't check their firing zone, which appears to be the case here as well (without the death, just the lack of checking firing zone).

Link to this

Hugh Davenport left an annotation ()

Going through more, points 4-6 are likely to interfere with investigation.

I'm struggling to see any reason for the others.

Draft of what I might send to Ombudsman:
Point 1, how many shots were fired. I can't see any way this would intefere with the investigation.
Point 2, perhaps c, d, and e may interfere with the investigation, but still doesn't seem likely
Point 3, this may still be ongoing, subpoint b should probably be known now, and shouldn't interfere with the investigation.
Point 4-6 I can see this interfering, and it is likely correct for them to refuse these points.
Point 7-8, similar information has been released quite happily by the Police for the Christchurch terrorist, but seem to be withheld here. https://twitter.com/nzpolice/status/1107...
Point 9. Again, I don't see how this might interfere with the investigation.

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From: Hugh Davenport

Dear MCMAHON, Teresa,

Before I go to the Ombudsman on this. Would I be able to get a bit of reasoning behind how this request in its entirety fits in with s6(c).

Releasing some of the information I requested should have no prejudice on any investigation the Police have, or any rights to a fair trial with the offender. I also don't see how releasing some data would prejudice any prevention or detection of offences.

Point 1, how many shots were fired. I can't see any way this would interfere with the investigation. Can you please explain how this might interfere?
Point 2, perhaps c, d, and e may interfere with the investigation, but still doesn't seem likely. Can you please explain why the public is not entitled to know that Police are handling firearms as per the firearms safety rules (https://www.police.govt.nz/advice/firear...)
Point 3, this may still be ongoing, subpoint b should probably be known now, and shouldn't interfere with the investigation. Can you please explain how this may prejudice?
Point 4-6 I can see this interfering, and it is likely correct for the Police to refuse these points.
Point 7-8, similar information has been released quite happily by the Police for the Christchurch terrorist, but seem to be withheld here. https://twitter.com/nzpolice/status/1107.... Can you please explain why information regarding response times is available for release pre-trial for some situations, but not all?
Point 9. Again, I don't see how this might interfere with the investigation. Can you please explain how it is likely to prejudice?

I requested this information as in the past, Police have used firearms without checking their "firing zone" (which is a term from rule 5 of the 7 firearm safety rules available at https://www.police.govt.nz/advice/firear...), which resulted in a death of an innocent bystander, and injury of another (http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/807216/C... and https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/1...).

This also appears to break rule 2 of the firearm safety rules which is point only in a safe direction.
In this request, the video shows Police not appearing to check danger to the public around the area, breaching rules 2 and 5 of the firearms safety rules. This is mentioned by a witness in the news story (https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zeala...).

QUOTE
Witness Josiah Wallace captured the whole thing on camera, and he says the public was in danger.

"The officer gets out of his vehicle, and instantly with no thought about the public pulls his firearm and fires shots at the Holden."

Mr Wallace says things could have gone badly

"About a metre away there was a family who had just finished eating with their kids in the car," he told Newshub.

"[The kids] were crying and the guy got out of his car and yells 'I've got kids in here!'"

He says the officer just stared at the family before driving off after the Holden
ENDQUOTE

I think that there was a high chance that a shot from the Police could have injured or killed a member of the public if the shot fired was slightly different.

I think that it is of interest to the public that some information is released on this, to show that the Police correctly know how to handle firearms in a safe manner.

I would hope that given this explanation, you reconsider withholding this request in it's entirety, and release some or all of the information.

Yours sincerely,

Hugh Davenport

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From: Hugh Davenport

Dear MCMAHON, Teresa,

I should also note, from https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/1...

QUOTE
The authority found a litany of errors, mainly involving police policy and command structures.

The authority's recommendations included a review of command raining and review weapons training for the Armed Offenders Squad.
ENDQUOTE

It appears that those recommendations have not been taken on board by the Police, given this video and the actions shown by Police and the AOS.

I look forward to your reply.

Yours sincerely,

Hugh Davenport

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From: Hugh Davenport

Dear MCMAHON, Teresa,

Would I be able to get confirmation that this was received and understood and whether NZ Police are reconsidering the refusal?

Yours sincerely,

Hugh Davenport

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From: MCMAHON, Teresa
New Zealand Police

Dear Mr Davenport
Your two messages regarding the response to your request were received. I am sorry for not responding sooner. Police is exceptionally busy at present in the aftermath of the events in Christchurch 3 weeks ago but we are striving to address requests and other issues as soon as possible after they come in. In respect of your request, we are not reviewing our response and remind you of your right to refer the matter to the Ombudsman.

Yours sincerely
Teresa McMahon

===============================================================
WARNING
The information contained in this email message is intended for the addressee only and may contain privileged information. It may also be subject to the provisions of section 50 of the Policing Act 2008, which creates an offence to have unlawful possession of Police property. If you are not the intended recipient of this message or have received this message in error, you must not peruse, use, distribute or copy this message or any of its contents.
Also note, the views expressed in this message may not necessarily reflect those of the New Zealand Police. If you have received this message in error, please email or telephone the sender immediately

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From: Hugh Davenport

Dear MCMAHON, Teresa,

Cool thank you.

Yours sincerely,

Hugh Davenport

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