Examination of use of firearms urged

Press, 26 April 1983, Page 26

Examination of use of firearms urged

PA Wellington An examination of police procedures governing the use of firearms has been called for by the National member of Parliament for Helensville, Mr D. M. J. Jones, as a result of the police killings of two men in four months. Mr Jones said he wanted an investigation into the way firearms were issued to the police and how they should be used. However, in doing so, he said his call was not connected with the police inquiry into the killing of a former Mongrel Mob member, Paul Chase, in Petone last Monday, and Mr Jones dissociated himself from calls for that inquiry

to be made public. He said the two were "quite distinct.” He said, however, two persons had been shot dead by the police recently — Mr Chase, and John Morgan, at Lower Hutt last Christmas — and a third could have been in Auckland. “I know nothing of how police handle these matters (concerning firearms use) and as a member of Parliament I should be able to tell my constituents how it is done,” Mr Jones said. “As a member of Parliament I am elected to be responsible for their safety and if someone asks me, •Under what circumstances can a policeman enter my home?’ I should be able to tell him,” Mr Jones said.