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Jan Molenaar - Source: ONE News -
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Police negotiators were convinced that Napier gunman Jan Molenaar intended to commit "suicide by cop" when he was under siege in his house in May last year, a police inspector told an inquest into his death on Wednesday.
Inspector Lance Burdette, officer in charge of negotiations with Molenaar, who fatally shot one police officer and injured two fellow officers and a civilian during a drugs search on May 7, told the inquest that the gunman's mood fluctuated widely during the three-day siege.
On the first night he was defensive, refusing to speak with negotiators and firing random shots from a high-powered rifle.
However, Burdette says Molenaar eventually did speak to negotiators at various times but while his attitude lifted occasionally, he appeared tired and depressed.
The inquest into his death and that of Senior Constable Len Snee, who was shot by Molenaar in his driveway after the search team was ordered from his house, is being conducted by Dunedin coroner David Crerar.
Two other officers, Senior Constables Grant Diver and Bruce Miller, received serious injuries in the shooting but are now back at work.
The civilian, Len Holmwood, a friend of Molenaar's, was also seriously injured after trying to prevent him from shooting the two wounded officers as they tried to crawl away.
Burdette revealed that at one stage Molenaar asked for a friend to come to his house in Chaucer Road, Napier, with two hamburgers so they could have a talk. But police believed Molenaar was in a suicidal state and only wanted to say goodbye to his friend.
Police negotiators used Molenaar's partner, Delwyn Keefe, currently serving a prison sentence for her role in his drug-dealing operation, to send text messages in a bid to encourage the gunman to give himself up.
Her involvement appeared to having a calming influence on Molenaar but police were convinced he wanted to "go out with a bang" and had told police he had a few "surprises" for them if they tried to storm his house.
It was later found that Molenaar had a series of explosive booby traps in the house and a large array of firearms and ammunition.
Burdette says "suicide by cop", when people invite an armed confrontation with police with the intention of being shot, was Molenaar's intention.
He had been deeply affected by the suicide of his brother a few years earlier and said at one stage that he was going to see his brother.
The inquest also heard a Labour Department report which noted that none of the three officers shot by Molenaar was wearing stab-resistant body armour, despite a general instruction from the police commissioner that they be worn at all times when police are involved with the public.
Investigations revealed that Snee's vest had been stolen from the Taradale police station in February 2008 but the theft had not been reported and no replacement vest obtained.
However, Labour Department health and safety inspector Paul West, who prepared the report, says the vests would not have protected the officers from a high-powered rifle fired at close range.
His report noted several failings by the three-man search warrant team, led by Senior Constable Snee, including their failure to advise the national Police Communications Centre or a dispatcher of their intention to serve the warrant that morning.
No risk assessment analysis was done before the search and only three officers instead of five originally planned for the task were used.
But West says the department would not recommend any legal action against the police because the men had not followed correct organisational procedures.
He suggested that the non-wearing of stab-resistant body armour might be symptomatic of a systemic problem in the eastern police district with some officers finding the vests cumbersome and hot.
This was refuted by Superintendent Tony McLeod, national manager for police operations, who said complaints about discomfort were usually overcome when the vests were fitted correctly.
He says it would be wrong to suggest a systematic issue of non-compliance based on the actions of the three officers on that day.
Responding to criticism that the officers had not contacted the national control centre or a dispatcher before carrying out the search of Molenaar's house, McLeod accepted that usual protocols were not adhered to by the men.
The coroner says he was surprised to find that there were 587 general instructions from the commissioner that police officers were expected to know.
He says a project was under way to reduce the number of general instructions to "less than 100".
The inquest is continuing.
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