Seven years after police gunned down Waitara man Steven Wallace, the long awaited coroner's report has come out with some damning conclusions.
Police were called to Waitara on the morning of April 30, 2000, as Wallace smashed more than 60 shop windows with a golf club and baseball bat. When police arrived he turned on them and he didn't stop when police fired warning shots. It was then that Senior Constable Keith Abbott fired in self defence.
Wallace died shortly after.
The coroner decided to conduct an inquest into the death, but
ruled that it should only look at police policy and procedure and
first aid care for Wallace.
The Hamilton coroner's report criticises the actions of the two
officers who confronted Wallace as he went on the early
morning rampage in the small Taranaki town.
Gordon Matenga says the three officers who dealt with the incident
showed a lack of leadership. He says it was nothing to do with
inadequate police procedure, it was simply "a performance
issue".
He also criticises a lack guidelines for police as to when dog handlers should be called in and recommends the policy be reviewed. But the coroner says it must not be forgotten that Steven Wallace was "bent on mayhem".
But the lawyer who represents the police has rubbished the report.
"The criticisms are redundant and...don't reflect the reality of
what confronted them that morning," Susan Hughes QC says.
Wallace's family took a private murder prosecution against Abbott
and he was found not guilty following a trial at the High
Court in Wellington.
Hughes says Abbott is pleased the inquest result is finally out.
"It has been almost two years since the inquest was held, it's been more than seven years since Steven Wallace was shot...the question is how much longer it's actually going to take to conclude all the legal processes," says Hughes.
The final chapter in the death will be a report from the Police Complaints Authority.
