26/01/2009

Officer who shot Naitoko should be Tried for Manslaughter

Mr Melino Maka, Chair of the Tongan Advisory Council, supports calls for the Police Officer who shot dead an innocent bystander, Halatau Naitoko, on Friday to be tried in Court.

He said the Police response of ‘in the wrong place at the wrong time’ is particularly concerning. “It was unpremeditated,” Mr Maka stated, “But it was still the unlawful killing of one person by another. In my dictionary, that means manslaughter. I don’t see how the Naitoko family are going to get any form of justice in this situation.”

Mr Maka said, “I think most New Zealanders would like to think that a law-abiding citizen, minding their own business, could not be shot to death by Police in this country. While the Police may have apprehended the man at the centre of the car chase, a seventeen year old is dead. You can’t call that a satisfactory outcome.”

Mr Maka said that the shooting of an innocent third party has set a nasty precedent in New Zealand policing history and the Tongan community and other New Zealanders will be watching closely to see how it is handled.

ENDS

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