Halatau Naitoko inquest adjourned

A hearing to decide whether two armed offenders' squad members should give evidence about who fired the shots which killed Auckland courier driver Halatau Naitoko, was adjourned today.

Squad members fired a total of four shots, none of which hit their intended target, but one did hit Mr Naitoko, 17, on Auckland's northwestern motorway in January this year.

Their lawyer went to the High Court today in an attempt to stop them having to give evidence from the dock.

The hearing was adjourned until February 16, when a telephone conference will be held between counsel and a judge.

An inquest into Mr Naitoko's death began this week, but has been adjourned until March.

The third of four shots was likely to be the one that struck and killed Mr Naitoko, a forensic expert told the inquest on Wednesday.

He was caught in police crossfire as they chased Stephen Hohepa McDonald, who was on a crime rampage and trying to hijack a truck at the time of the shooting.

McDonald was later jailed for 13 years on 23 charges.

The officer who fired the fatal shot has permanent name suppression.

- NZPA