A report by the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) claims that Police were justified when they shot and killed Auckland man Jerrim Toms. Justice advocates People Against Prisons Aotearoa say the facts of the case do not support this conclusion.

“When Jerrim approached the police with a machete, the officers shot him twice in the chest. At this point he turned toward the bush and tried to leave. He was fleeing, but the police fired at him a further 8 times, shooting him in the back,” says People Against Prisons Aotearoa spokesperson Emilie Rākete.

“Jerrim was fleeing, and this whole incident occurred on a remote stretch of rural highway at 4 in the morning. There was nobody around, yet the IPCA found the officers who shot him were justified because they were ‘protecting the public’. There was no public around to protect, so these findings are incoherent.”

“The IPCA continues to set terrible precedents, finding that police are justified in killing New Zealanders regardless of the circumstances. Combined with the reckless policy of armed police patrols, the foundations are being laid for an epidemic of police killings.”

ENDS

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