The family of a man shot dead in Taranaki two decades ago say they are looking for "justice" as their civil case against the authorities gets under way.
In April 2000, 23-year-old Steven Wallace used a golf club to smash shop windows, a taxi, and then the windows of a police car in which officers were sitting.
He was fatally shot by Senior Constable Keith Abbott, who was later acquitted after the family brought a private prosecution for murder.
The family still believes other tactical options were available to the police the night their son died, and he was deprived of the right to life.
They are now taking a civil case against the Commissioner of Police and the Attorney-General, invoking the Bill of Rights.
Steven's mother, Raewyn Wallace, says the police did not properly investigate her son's death, and the trial and coroner's inquest were limited.
She was cross-examined by the Crown lawyer Peter Gunn at the High Court in Wellington yesterday.
