Epiha is on trial at the High Court at Auckland, along with Natalie Bracken, who has denied being an accessory after the fact of murder by helping Epiha avoid arrest. On the day of the shooting, a dark purple Toyota, driven by Epiha, caught the two constables’ attention and was flagged in the police national intelligence system. Constable Goldfinch said the pair had been on road policing duties with their car stationed on Triangle Rd, in Massey, when Epiha’s “erratic” driving caught his attention. “We decided to go and stop the vehicle just due to manner of driving, alerts on the vehicle and not being the registered owner.
Kirsty Lawrence16:42, Jul 15 2021
Stuff
Police locked down the scene around the shootout in the Hamilton suburb of Hillcrest and it remained cordoned off in the morning.
A silver car with its rear window punctured by bullet holes sits in a suburban Hamilton carpark next to a block of flats. Its driver is dead after the first in a pair of violent but unrelated confrontations – first in Hamilton late on Wednesday night, and then Auckland on Thursday afternoon – saw police involved in gun battles only hours apart. The first, in the eastern Hamilton suburb of Hillcrest, involved what neighbours described as a “large volley of gunfire” ringing across the usually quiet street near Waikato University.
On June 19, 2020, a dark purple Toyota, driven by Epiha, caught the two constables’ attention and was flagged in the police national intelligence system. The pair had been on road policing duties. Lights and sirens were activated, but as Epiha attempted to evade the officers, he lost control and crashed into another car, injuring a member of the public on Reynella Dr. As an unarmed Goldfinch exited the police car to approach the crash scene, Epiha opened fire, shooting at him 10 times, Crown prosecutor Alysha McClintock previously said.
RYAN ANDERSON/Stuff
Eli Epiha denies attempting to murder Constable David Goldfinch. After Hunt radioed for help: We re being shot at”, he took only four steps out of his vehicle before he was shot four times in the back.
Stuff
The scene of the fatal shooting of Constable Matthew Hunt in June 2020. Inset, left to right: Eli Bob Sauni Epiha, Natalie Bracken, Constable Matthew Hunt. On June 19, 2020, a dark purple Toyota, driven by Epiha, caught the two constables’ attention and was flagged in the police national intelligence system. The incident unfolded after Epiha, who was driving a Toyota and trying to evade the two officers, crashed into another car in the West Auckland suburb of Massey. The crash injured a member of the public, who had been loading items into the car at the time. As an unarmed Goldfinch exited the police car to approach the crash scene, Epiha opened fire, shooting at him 10 times, Crown prosecutor Alysha McClintock previously said.
On June 19, 2020, a dark purple Toyota, driven by Epiha, caught the two constables’ attention and was flagged in the police national intelligence system. The pair had been on road policing duties.
NZ Police/supplied
Constable Matthew Hunt s family said it was his lifelong dream to become a police officer. Lights and sirens were activated, but as Epiha attempted to evade the officers, he lost control and crashed into another car, injuring a member of the public on Reynella Dr. As an unarmed Goldfinch exited the police car to approach the crash scene, Epiha opened fire, shooting at him 10 times, Crown prosecutor Alysha McClintock previously said.