A man has admitted enabling a fleeing driver to fire a rifle directly at a constable who kept up a lengthy pursuit of them through Whangārei streets.

(File photo)
Photo: 123RF

Tama-Parei Himiona Parata, 25, brought his jury trial in Whangārei District Court to an early end when he pleaded guilty to a single representative charge of using a firearm against police.

Judge Gene Tomlinson issued Parata with a first strike warning and further remanded him on existing electronically-monitored bail conditions for sentence on 29 August.

At the outset of the trial, Parata faced four of those charges and four of dangerous driving arising from the 30-minute pursuit in the early hours of September 3, 2020.

He was jointly charged for the firearm offences with the driver of the vehicle Jeffrey Cassidy.

Cassidy was jailed for seven years after negotiations that saw him plead guilty to two charges of using a firearm against law enforcement, dangerous driving, failing to stop, and drink-driving (600mcg).

The height of the Crown’s evidence in Parata’s trial came from the officer who pursued the pair, Senior Constable Peter Kinane.

He said Cassidy lent fully out of his driver’s window four times, twisting to face him, and holding the grip of an old Enfield 303 rifle with both hands as he aimed it directly at him.

Cassidy could not have done that without Parata taking over the steering for him, Kinane said.

He was not expecting to actually be shot at. He thought Cassidy might just try to scare him with the rifle by poking it out the window.

The rifle fired successfully twice – the first bullet failing to hit anything, the second hitting his headlight. On the last two attempts, the gun failed to fire.

Kinane said he knew when another shot would be taken as he could see Parata in the front passenger seat take hold of the steering wheel. Each incident lasted 3-4 seconds.

The car was disabled early in the pursuit by police road spikes. As it got slower and more difficult to control, Kinane feared Cassidy might use the gun to steal a fresh getaway vehicle from a member of the public.

Fortunately, there was little traffic about and two vehicles he tried to force off the road, swerved to avoid him.

The pair were arrested when the car broke down. Kinane said he saw Parata with his hand on the rifle trying to free it from beside the centre console.

Judge Tomlinson told the jury that, in revising its charging notice, the Crown was content Parata’s culpability was met by the single charge. It was not pursuing the dangerous driving charges.

Restorative justice was directed as an opportunity for Parata to apologise to Kinane and two officers who abandoned the initial pursuit of the pair after realising they might have a gun.

*This story originally appeared in The New Zealand Herald.