9 Feb 2015

Police officer breaches gun rules

9:26 am on 9 February 2015

A police officer has admitted that he breaches police rules by routinely carrying a firearm and says he does so for protection, Radio New Zealand reports.

The officer, who works alone in a remote part of the country, justified carrying a firearm at times when on patrol by writing that seconds was all the police had in some situations - for instance, when on patrol or stopping cars - and seconds may not be enough to escape or retrieve a firearm from the boot of the car.

The claim was made in a letter to the magazine, Police News, and the Police Association has spoken out saying the officer is not following the association’s advice.

Chief executive Greg O'Connor said despite the association's pro-gun stance for police officers they told their members to stick to current police rules.

He said policy stated if officers believed the circumstances they were in justified the carrying of a gun they could.

But he said that stopped short of police being able to carry firearms in the general course of their jobs.

In the December issue of Police News, the officer asked to remain anonymous because of possible repercussions.

The officer said there had been no complaints about carrying a firearm.