Police release name of man killed by officer in Wellington
Police have this afternoon released the name of the man who was killed by an officer in Wellington.
The name of the deceased is 44-year-old Christopher Wayne Brown of the wider Porirua area.
Commander for Wellington, Superintendent Steve Kehoe, said police have offered their condolences to Brown's family, who have requested privacy.
Brown died on the way to hospital after being shot once in the shoulder by a police officer in Porirua.
The 44-year-old was carrying a machete as he approached an officer alone in a police car and had been involved in an earlier domestic incident in Waikanae, Superintendent Kehoe said yesterday.
"The information I have is staff acted professionally, appropriately and in accordance with policy, and on that basis the staff have my 100 per cent backing and support," Supt Kehoe says.
Police have recovered a machete and say there was air rifle in the man's vehicle.
There are several investigations into the police shooting, including one by Independent Police Conduct Authority.
The situation started with police being called to a domestic incident between a man and a woman in Waikanae, north of Wellington. A knife was reported to be involved in that incident but the woman was not harmed.
The man's vehicle was found around Mana Esplanade at 12.30am on Sunday and the man approached the patrol car with the machete.
Supt Kehoe wouldn't comment on whether a warning was given before the police officer fired the shot.
Another police officer witnessed the incident.
The man was given first aid at the scene and paramedics were called.
The man was known to police.
Tasers are available to staff on duty, Supt Kehoe says. He said situations required staff to make an assessment of the threats they faced.
