John MacDonald: How I feel about armed cops after this week's shootings

When I first heard about the police shooting and killing someone they had actually gone to help, like most people, I wondered how the hell that could happen.  

This is the shooting in Bryndwr in Christchurch overnight on Wednesday, which left a woman dead and a man critically injured.  

As always happens, the armchair experts haven’t been slow in coming forward. For example, demanding to know why the police couldn’t have shot the woman in the leg, rather than taking her life.  

But unless we have been in the position of a dealing with something like that —a situation where the woman had been in danger but then threatened police with a knife—  we can't really criticise the police.  

And can you imagine how the officer who fired those shots is feeling today?  

But what I am asking is whether or not this tragedy has had any impact on my attitude towards the arming of our police.  

And I can honestly say that my attitude hasn’t changed. Despite the tragic outcome, I still think our police need to be armed – in fact, more so than they are already.  

You might remember the survey by the Police Association which found that 69% of police officers wanted to be armed on a regular basis. That’s more than two-thirds of our cops who said they reckon they need guns to keep themselves safe on the job.  

Over the years, some people have said that arming every police officer would do more harm than good.   

Here are a couple of examples: Poto Williams, when she was Police Minister, said that arming officers would “change the community’s relationship with the police”. Which I thought at the time was a load of nonsense.  

And I still do, because the relationship has already changed and it’s putting the lives of our cops at risk everyday. Which is why more than two-thirds of them said in that survey that they want to be armed more regularly.   

The late Chester Borrows —who was a former National MP and a former cop— was another one anti-guns for cops. I remember him saying that a general arming of the police would see more officers being shot and more civilians being shot. His view was more guns, more deaths.  

But how I’ve always seen it, is that it’s very weird we have a workplace health and safety system in New Zealand that is hellbent on keeping workers safe at work by making sure they’re sitting at their desk in the right position, but we’re more than happy for police officers not to be kept as safe at work as they could or should be.  

Which is why over recent years, I’ve come to think that police officers should be able to carry a pistol at all times.  

And, despite the tragic events in Christchurch the other night, I still feel that way. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Canterbury Morning's Podcast with John McDonald
from News Talks AB.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
You know when I first heard about the police shooting,
you know, where they shot and killed someone they had
actually gone to help. This is in Brindwa. When I
first heard about that, I mean, like you probably did,
I thought, well, how the hell does that happen? How
do you how do you go to help someone that
you end up shooting and killing them? And this was

(00:33):
in Brindwa in christ Church overnight on Wednesday, which is
we know, left a woman dead and a man critically injured.
He's still critical in hospital now. And as always happens,
the armchair experts haven't been slow and coming forward, have they,
for example demanding to know why the police why couldn't

(00:55):
they have shot her in the leg? Aim, I couldn't
have done that rather than taking your life. But you're
not going to hear me trotting out that nonsense this morning.
Why or because until you and I are in the
position of a cop dealing with something like that, a
situation where this woman, yes they had gone to help her,

(01:19):
but this was a situation where she was threatening them
with a knife, then till you or I have been
in that boat. I don't think we can really criticize
the police. And can you imagine how the officer or
officers who fired those shots is or are feeling today.

(01:40):
I think it was a single officer from what I
heard yesterday, but can you imagine how they're feeling today. Nevertheless,
what you are going to hear me talking about this morning,
and which I'm interested in hearing from you on, is
whether or not this tragedy has had any impact on
our attitudes towards the arming of police. And I can

(02:03):
honestly say, honestly, I can honestly say that my attitude
hasn't changed despite the tragic outcome. Despite that, I still
think our police need to be armed. In fact, I
still think that they need to be armed more than
they are already. Now, can I remind you I remember this?

(02:25):
A survey by the Police Association found that sixty nine
percent of police officers wanted to be armed on a
regular basis. There's more than two thirds of our cops
who said in that survey they reckon or they believe
that they need guns to keep themselves safe on the job.
This is despite many people over the years saying that

(02:48):
arming every police officer would do more harm than good.
One a couple of examples. I'll give you one. Port
Or Williams. Remember her when she was a police minister.
She said that arming officers would quote change the community's
relationship with the police end of quote, which I thought
all at the time was a load of nonsense, and
I still do because the relationship has already changed and

(03:13):
it's putting the lives of our cops at risk every day,
which is why more than two thirds of them said
in that survey they want to be armed more regularly.
Someone else's the late chest of Borrows. Now he was
a former National MP. It was also a former cop,
and he was another one anti gun for the police.
I remember him saying that a general arming of the

(03:34):
police would see more officers shot and more civilians being shot.
His view was more guns, more injuries, more deaths. But
how I've always seen it is that it's very weird.
Don't you think that we have a workplace health and
safety system in New Zealand that's hell bent on keeping
workers safe at work by making sure they're sitting at

(03:55):
their desk in the right position. But we seem to
be more than happy for police officers not to be
kept as safe at work as they could be, well
in fact should be, which is why, overrest years I've
come to think that police officers should be able to
carry a pistol at all times, not to something in
the boot at all times. And despite the tragic events

(04:15):
in Brindle the other night, I still feel that way.
I can honestly say, despite the outcome, that it hasn't
changed my position or attitude.

Speaker 1 (04:27):
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