15 Jul 2020

Wallace shooting: Police say no option but to arm themselves

From Morning Report, 6:12 am on 15 July 2020

The police say they had no other option but to arm themselves during a fast-moving situation in Waitara where a man was fatally shot 20 years ago.

In April 2000, Steven Wallace was shot dead by Senior Constable Keith Abbott, who was later acquitted of murder after a private prosecution by the Wallace family.

Wallace had walked down Waitara's main street using a golf club to smash shop windows, a taxi and then a patrol car with officers inside.

The family still believes Wallace was deprived of the right to life and have taken the police to court.

At the High Court in Wellington yesterday, now detective sergeant, Jason Dombroski, who was at the scene, went through events in detail, starting with Wallace attacking the patrol car with a club.