Police cleared of liability

Press, 29 August 1986, Page 1

Police cleared of liability

PA Wellington Police officers who shot and killed Kevin David Fox in the main street of Gore last year have been cleared of any criminal liability, said the Commissioner of Police, Mr Ken Thompson in Wellington yesterday. The shooting of Fox, who seconds earlier shot and killed his wife while they were sitting in a car, was “reasonable use of force,” according to a review of the incident, said Mr Thompson. He was giving the report of the Solicitor-Gen-eral, Mr Paul Neazor, Q.C., who reviewed the file to determine whether there was any criminal liability. This was an aspect of the incident which was not covered by the independent examiner, Mr Peter Penlington Q.C., in his report on the shooting

which was released in March.. Fox was shot on June 6 last year. Mr Thompson said Mr Neazor’s opinion confirmed the earlier view of the independent examiner that the police handled the situation with “patience, tact and quiet diplomacy.” Mr Neazor said the actions of the officers were justified in terms of section 48 of the Crimes Act. He considered the shooting of Fox was reasonable use of force by way of self-defence and in defence of colleagues, in view of the circumstances. Mr Thompson said the long wait to be officially cleared of criminal liability was not easy for the officers. “The need for close scrutiny of police actions is always difficult for the

officers involved. In this case, the files covering the investigation were very extensive, and the review by the independent examiner was meticulous and detailed,” he said. “It took longer than we would have hoped, but the result is that there can be no doubt that the officers’ actions were legally and operationally justified?’ He hoped that after this detailed series of reviews the officers would see this final opinion from the Solicitor-General as “a complete personal vindication of their actions in circumstances that required them to take extreme measures.” The Police Association, which had beeri concerned about the delay in finalising the matter, welcomed the commissioner’s comments.