NZ Police/Stuff
Police want information on the whereabouts of Cliff Wharerau, 45, and have appealed to the public for help.
Police are looking for a man who allegedly shot at a police officer and kidnapped a man and are appealing to the public for help.
Cliff Wharerau, 45, is accused of kidnapping a man from Waipapa, just north of Kerikeri in Northland, in October 2020.
The kidnapping was reported to police after the male complainant approached a Matauri Bay property asking for help.
Around the same time, a police officer was shot at on State Highway 11, near the Puketona Junction.
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The officer said two men got out of their car and fired at her windscreen as she was reversing to safety.
Wharerau is due to appear in the High Court in Whangārei in July.
NZ POLICE/Supplied
A police officer’s windscreen was damaged in an alleged shooting in 2020.
Northland detective senior sergeant Kevan Verry said Wharerau was known to frequent Northland, Auckland and Te Awamutu, but police were looking for information from across the country.
He was described as being as 174cm tall with distinctive tattoos on his left hand, arm and shoulder.
Police said Wharerau had ties to local gangs in the area and was “armed and dangerous”.
He should not be approached and 111 should be called immediately.
Anyone who has seen Wharerau or has any information on his whereabouts is advised to contact Police on 105. Information can be provided anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
