Waikato District Commander, Acting Superintendent Warwick Morehu:

Police accepts the findings of the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) report into a fleeing driver incident in Huntly on 12 November 2017.

Police acknowledge that the officer made some errors of judgement in affecting the arrest, however notes that overall the pursuit was otherwise properly commenced and conducted safely in accordance with the law and Police policy.

The report found that the decision made by Officer C to fire warning shots was unjustified, as was the decision to arm himself, and that Officer A was unjustified in kicking the man in the midriff to effect arrest.

Police deal with fast-moving and ever-changing situations every day, and split-second decisions need to be made to keep the community and Police safe.

In this instance, we acknowledge that some of the decisions made by officers could have been better, and alternative tactical options should have been considered.

However, we note that no one was injured and this high-speed fleeing driver incident was resolved successfully.

Following the incident and investigation, the officers involved have been supported and have had intensive training to deal with their situational awareness, decision making, and use of tactical options.

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