3 August 2015

Association supports officers involved in police shooting

“The Police Association is fully supporting the officers involved in last night’s shooting in Auckland,” Police Association President Greg O’Connor said today.

“This is the situation every police officer dreads. It’s a possibility police face every time they go on shift. Even so, nobody goes to work expecting to be placed in a position where they are forced to shoot somebody,” Mr O’Connor said.

“Inevitably, armchair critics will speculate and make judgments about what ‘could’ or ‘should’ have been done. But the officers involved were the people who were there facing the situation, who had the training, and who were faced with the responsibility of actually making a decision," said Mr O’Connor.

“It’s a hell of a decision to have to make. I know that the officers will be feeling absolutely shattered by that experience."

“The Police Association is standing by the officers and offering all the support we can."

“As with all such incidents, this shooting will now be the subject of extensive investigation by Police, the IPCA, and the coroner. Yes, those investigations will take time. But until they are complete, none of us are in a position to criticise the judgment call that the officers involved were forced to make,” Mr O’Connor said.

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