A taser would have helped
Stuff report:
Actor Robert Mokaraka said “I’m sorry bro” to police tending to him after he allegedly went at officers with a meat cleaver in his hand and was shot.
He was shot at about 1pm in the Auckland suburb of Pt Chevalier yesterday after a Smale St resident called 111 and said a man was acting strangely.
“They had serious concerns of violence,” said Superintendent George Fraser. “That person subsequently approached police armed with a meat cleaver and two knives.
Police feared for their safety and the actor was shot in the chest.
Ouch. Lucky to be alive.
The armed offenders squad and an officer trained with a Taser were on their way when Mokaraka advanced on police and was shot, Mr Fraser said.
I am sure Mr Mokaraka would rather have been tazered than shot in the chest.
July 28th, 2009 at 9:02 am
I am sure Mr Mokaraka would rather have been tazered than shot in the chest.
Offering criminals a choice? DPF are you coming down with swine flu?
July 28th, 2009 at 9:04 am
Ouch. Lucky to be alive.
Isn’t this the guy who died?
July 28th, 2009 at 9:06 am
Nah he’s still alive.
July 28th, 2009 at 9:14 am
and the defence will be Method Acting….
July 28th, 2009 at 9:16 am
..why is it when these shitbags get shot..all in sundry come out of the woodwork and say ” what a lovely guy he is..so out of character “….meatcleaver?..2 knives??..nice guy??…tui billboard??
July 28th, 2009 at 9:18 am
I would have said a double tap would have helped more.
July 28th, 2009 at 9:23 am
starboard said: why is it when these shitbags get shot..all in sundry come out of the woodwork and say ” what a lovely guy he is..so out of character “
You must have a very one dimentional view of life starboard. People say these things because they are true. People snap, panic, have problems with mental illness that cause them to do things like this. Why would all of his past good deeds suddenly be forgotten?
July 28th, 2009 at 9:26 am
Why would all of his past good deeds suddenly be forgotten?
It worked with Clayton.
July 28th, 2009 at 9:26 am
NOt1tocommentoften
Fair to say I do see things as black and white….makes life so much easier…you outa try it….
July 28th, 2009 at 9:34 am
Personally I think the Police should have set a cordon until Keith Locke could be flown in to negotiate face-to-face
July 28th, 2009 at 9:36 am
As an aside, I saw Supt Fraser on telly last night talking about this and I’m pretty sure he was on the verge of tears. NEver saw a cop that shaky-voiced before. Anyone else notice that?
July 28th, 2009 at 9:39 am
starboard – at least your honest. Must say I feel sorry for you though. Must make for a fairly pitiful existence. Unfortunately life isn’t black and white and all sorts of factors lead people to act in different ways. It’s a shame when people can’t see all the factors that are in play in a situation like this. Blame, blame, blame…
July 28th, 2009 at 9:42 am
I doubt a taser would have worked, to use a taser one has to be reasonably close, if a criminal low life is charging at you with a meat cleaver and that cleaver is in throwing range then you are in danger.
Just shoot the prick and be done with it.
July 28th, 2009 at 9:53 am
The thing about using a taser at close range to shoot someone charging at you with a meat cleaver is that if you miss you get cleaved a new one. They are brilliant for dealing with the guy who is standing still waving the cleaver.
July 28th, 2009 at 9:59 am
Brian – you beat me to it! shoulda gone with the double tap!
i dont watch the news.. curious though, did they bring out the typical lowlife witness to say the police didnt need to shoot him?
July 28th, 2009 at 10:49 am
I am not sure you could call this guy or the flatmate the tv news interviewed ‘lowlives’. He seemed to me to be trying suicide by cop as way out of his financial and relationship mess. Not a criminal in the traditional sense. I guess the cop who pulled the trigger made the right choice and it did stop the attack.
July 28th, 2009 at 1:24 pm
DPF: “I am sure Mr Mokaraka would rather have been tazered than shot in the chest.”
I’m sure he would have too. And perhaps had he been only acting aggressively without any weapons, and the cops had had a tazer, then that would have been an appropriate response. As others have said, wielding a meat cleaver certainly changes the situation and, in this case, it appears as though police acted in a proportionate manner.
July 28th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
starboard so if it was your brother or son who suddenly snapped you would want half a dozen rounds put in him ?
Now you would not whine much would you ?
July 28th, 2009 at 2:40 pm
At the end of the day the cops would have warned this guy that if he didnt put the weapons down he would get shot.
I hope people dont start bad mouthing the cops at this early stage when all the facts are not available yet but Im sure some will.
Does anyone know what the range of a taser is? 5 metres at max.
July 28th, 2009 at 3:58 pm
I am sure Mr Mokaraka would rather have been tazered than shot in the chest.
And *I* am sure Mr Mokaraka would rather have had access to adequate mental health services than be shot or tazered.
July 28th, 2009 at 4:05 pm
no of course not mynameisjack, thats far too honest for round these parts.
July 28th, 2009 at 4:19 pm
Jack, do you know that he tried to get help and was refused or are you making stuff up?
I’m sure that once he is over his injuries he will get help from the local mental health team. Or are they supposed to be mind readers?
July 28th, 2009 at 4:51 pm
starboard so if it was your brother or son who suddenly snapped you would want half a dozen rounds put in him ?
Now you would not whine much would you ?
no , not at all. 6 rounds would be overkill dont you think? But the one round to drop him ( remember he was going the copper with a meat cleaver ) is sufficent…brother..son..whatever..thats life….Oh thats right…probably too black and white for most folk…
July 28th, 2009 at 5:04 pm
Yeah, and I’d rather be shot than pulled apart by wild horses – at least it’d be quick. Tazers kill too, like they did the guy in Australia who burst into flames when tazered recently.
Since when was “retreat and containment” ruled out as an option for Police? Since we de facto armed every officer and mindlessly crowed in support every time they pulled the trigger, before the facts were known. Like what’s meant by “approached”? How far was he from Police when shot? Why couldn’t they pull back and wait for assistance that was already on the way?
The macho “never take a step back” culture that pervades the Police has already led to the unnecessary death of a young innocent on Auckland’s freeway. I just wonder how much “collateral damage” we’re prepared to accept being meted out by nervous young 20-somethings armed with a weapon they’ve only ever fired on a range and awash with testosterone?
July 28th, 2009 at 5:07 pm
ILikeToWack said:And *I* am sure Mr Mokaraka would rather have had access to adequate mental health services than be shot or tazered.
Yeah. Shame Labour closed all the institutions and then fucked up the mental health service even further during its time at the trough.
July 28th, 2009 at 5:10 pm
“I just wonder how much “collateral damage” we’re prepared to accept being meted out by nervous young 20-somethings armed with a weapon they’ve only ever fired on a range and awash with testosterone?”
Well in this case the “collateral damage” would appear to be limited to the idiot/insane person with the meat cleaver and whatever psychological damage the cop who shot him suffered. I think that is an acceptable price to pay for resolving the situation.
July 28th, 2009 at 6:28 pm
I’ll be brutally honest, I still don’t understand why emphasis are placed on tasers.
I’m sorry he was shot, ouch, but at the same time why should police have to use something that less effective overall when attending to incidents? Every single time when someone is shot, everyone is suddenly an expert, claiming this and that could have been avoided if so and so was available, but never once do people look at the entire picture and really think about it.
It’s the price people have to live with if we want a safe country. If NZ continues down this path, I can’t imagine how it’ll turn out in another 10 years.
July 28th, 2009 at 9:56 pm
I’ve been waiting all day for Phil Goff to come out with a ban on meat cleavers.
July 28th, 2009 at 11:05 pm
Hey Rex W, keep up with the play mate. Even the earliest and brief reports stated that Police went to the house after being called there and then withdrew to cordon the area when first confronted. There were only three officers there, and as such they were limited in the size of cordon that they could establish. The second part of cordon is to contain. It was the duty of the officers to contain the armed man, to ensure the safety of others in the area.
What would have been said if Police withdrew even further after the man approached them (as you suggest) and he then stabbed a member of the public? I bet if that had happened you’d be on here complaining about Police inaction.
July 29th, 2009 at 8:00 am
And Rex, a couple more points about what you have raised.
Firstly, the footage clearly showed a Sergeant in attendance administering first aid immediately upon the shooting. Given that Sergeants are the ones with most ready access to firearms I think it is able to be presumed that he was the shooter. Does not exactly fit into your “nervous young 20-somethings… awash with testosterone” line.
Secondly, your throwaway line about a man bursting into flames when tasered in Australia fails to complete the story in that he was running at Police with a container of petrol and a lighter in an attempt to set them alight. His sister stated that he had been sniffing petrol during the day. I would suggest it was the petrol that burnt him, not the taser. It may have ignigted it, but so could have the lighter. Either way, I think your comment was missleading.
I’m all for free speech and we need to ensure accountability of the Police but hey, let’s get it right when we open our traps.
In either case, what would you have done? Withdraw and have a crazed armed man chase you around?
G