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Series 2, Episode 15 The Queen Is Dead 23 May 13 00:41:02

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Family of teen killed by police wants answers

Published: 9:22PM Tuesday March 27, 2012 Source: ONE News

The family of a young man killed by police in Hawke's Bay last year want answers as to why it appears the teen was shot 13 times.

Police say Lachan Kelly-Tumarae, 19, was shot after he fired a shotgun in Fernhill, about 18 kilometres south-west of Napier.

A year on from Kelly-Tumarae's death, his bullet-riddled clothing is raising more questions.

Story continues below...

The clothing was given to the family in December, who claim there are seven bullet holes in his trousers, five in his t-shirt and one in his shoe.

The teen's grandmother, Narina Tumarae, called the police "mongrels" and said no one could have survived that sort of gun fire.

"They must've really mangled him. It's like he was hit and hit and hit," she told TV ONE's Close Up.

"The truth is what we want. Get right to the bottom of it."

Detective Superintendent Andy Lovelock said he cannot say how many shots were fired because the information needs to be kept until it is referred to the coroner.

"Clearly a number of shots have been fired," he told Close Up.

"There are not 13 bullet holes in his clothing. There is one bullet hole in the clothing which is linked to a shot that hit Lachan in the abdomen, and that's the only one that is linked to a bullet penetration."

The day after the shooting, police said Kelly-Tumarae shot at them first. Twenty-four hours later, they would only say he discharged his weapon.

The Tumarae family say he did not fire at police. They say the shotgun went off while he was still in the car, leaving a hole the passenger-side foot-well.

And a witness Close Up spoke to says she never heard a shotgun go off.

Lovelock said the law allows for the use of potentially lethal force when a police officer is in fear of grievous bodily harm for himself or others.

The post-mortem report said the teen died of an unspecified number of gunshot wounds, and according to the death certificate Kelly-Tumarae died on the roadside before he could get medical attention.

An eyewitness to the shooting claimed seeing Kelly-Tumarae dead before he was put in the ambulance, despite the family being told he died in hospital.

"They saw the police panic around them and then when the ambulance arrived they just picked him up and took him into the ambulance and his head was hanging," said Narina.

"They just picked him up like a bloody pig."

Even though the death certificate says Kelly-Tumarae died at the scene, Lovelock said he died in hospital after ambulance staff tried to save his life.

Lovelock said he empathised with the family for how long the investigation has taken, but said it is close to concluding.

"I can say by the end of April, this matter will be finally resolved."

The superintendent said he will travel to Napier to meet with the family when the investigation is over.

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