The scene the fatal shooting in Wainuiomata last November. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
- The IPCA has found officers acted appropriately in the fatal shooting of Tane Wipa in Wellington last year
- Police were confronted by Wipa holding a screwdriver to the neck of his partner in the driveway of a rural property in Wainuiomata
- Officer's said Wipa held the woman as a human shield and told police "we are both going to die here today"
- When Wipa's behaviour escalated, he was shot once in the shoulder and went into cardiac arrest and died
A man fatally shot after an hour long stand-off with police in Wellington last year thanked officers for saving his hostage's life before he died.
The Independent Police Conduct Authority has found an officer was justified in shooting Tane Wipa, 36, after being called to a rural address in Wainuiomata on 16 November 2023.
Officers testifying for the IPCA report said they arrived at the property just after midday and found Wipa in the driveway holding a screwdriver to his partner's throat.
Residents who called police to the scene indicated Wipa had a baseball bat and a knife in his vehicle and had been punching and dragging the woman around the driveway.
The officers said Wipa's behaviour was erratic - alternating between moments of calm but regularly becoming heightened and more aggressive.
When an officer raised their firearm towards Wipa, he threatened to stab the woman - telling police "we are both going to die here today".
They said the woman look "terrified' as Wipa used her body as a human shield while shifting the weapon to different points on her body.
"I could see [the woman] wincing as she's being harmed, and with her body position, I just knew that he was pushing it into her lower, like her kidneys - low-lower spine. Then he'd go back threatening to stab her through the throat, and then he'd go straight back to the lower back, back to the throat ... back and forth, back and forth," an officer said.
After nearly an hour negotiating with police, Wipa's aggressive behaviour escalated further and police fired a single shot into the man's left shoulder.
"[I'm] trying to read his body language for when's he gonna make that final movement and kill her and watching her body language for when he's starting to kill her. [The woman] cried out in pain and fear, and I just knew - there's that big movement - and [he's] gonna go forward, and that's the decision to fire," an officer said.
The IPCA report said police immediately approached Wipa and began applying first aid but he went into cardiac arrest and died.
The report said before he died he thanked the officers for saving the woman's life.
The IPCA found police genuinely believed Wipa was about to seriously harm or kill the woman and "made every effort to resolve the situation safely".
They said shooting Wipa was the "only viable option available to police in the circumstances" and the officer who fired the shot delayed doing so "until he believed it to be absolutely necessary to save the woman's life".
Wellington District Commander Superintendent Corrie Parnell said all the officers involved did an exceptional job.
"These types of incidents are never easy for our officers. The staff involved had hoped for a different outcome, and tried very hard to resolve the matter safely, but were left with no other option but to ensure the woman was kept safe," Parnell said.
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