Four Bay of Plenty police officers involved in a shootout that killed a Tauranga man linked to three homicides have been recognised in the New Zealand Bravery Awards.

Anthony Fane died in a hail of 49 police bullets after shooting at them and fleeing through residential Tauranga streets on February 13, 2020.

An Independent Police Conduct Authority report in 2021, which found the police actions were justified, said Fane was also believed to have killed his partner on February 9, 2020 and, with his brother Samuel, killed two people at Omanawa Falls.

The citation, which does not name Fane or the officers involved, stated that on the evening of February 13, 2020, four Armed Offenders Squad members were on patrol in two police vehicles when they were alerted to a vehicle in the Tauranga City area linked to an offender being sought for a recent double homicide.

The AOS team located the vehicle, following it to attempt to stop it.

The citation said the offender began shooting at the AOS team as he drove, hitting the windscreen of the lead patrol vehicle driven by team leader Officer B, with Officer C in the passenger seat.

Police at the scene of the double murder in Omanawa. Photo: Daniel Hines/SunLive

Officer A drove the second patrol car, with Officer D in the passenger seat.

“With traffic and pedestrians using the roads at the time, the AOS team determined the offender posed a significant risk to the public and needed to be apprehended.

“They decided to follow the vehicle until it reached an area where risk to the public would be minimised.

“As they followed, the offender drove at a normal speed in his lane and aimed deliberate shots at the AOS team over several minutes, with rounds hitting and ricocheting off the lead patrol vehicle.”

The citation said the AOS team warned other police personnel in the area that they were following the offender, to avoid other police encountering the vehicle and becoming targets.

At one point, the offender stopped in a residential area to open his door and take aimed shots from around 20 metres away at Officer C and Officer B in their vehicle.

The officers allowed the offender to continue given the proximity of the public, said the statement.

Officer B kept his patrol car close to the offender’s vehicle while pursuing to minimise attention on civilian vehicles, while Officer A kept the second patrol car close behind to provide immediate support.

When the offender stopped again on southbound State Highway 2, the AOS team decided that the location was sufficiently isolated to attempt to apprehend the offender.

Takitimu Drive was closed while police conducted a scene examination. Photo / Daniel Hines, SunLive

Officer B stopped the lead patrol vehicle around 10 metres from the offender’s vehicle and Officer A stopped his patrol vehicle a further five metres behind.

The officers saw the offender moving in his vehicle and expected he would begin shooting again.

Officer A had positioned himself to use his patrol car to immobilise the offender’s vehicle if required.

From the passenger seat of the lead car, Officer C fired his rifle at the offender’s vehicle.

Officer D exited the second patrol car and moved into the open, between his car and the offender’s, firing through the offender’s back windshield.

Officer C and Officer D ceased firing and saw the offender slump in his seat and the offender’s vehicle begin rolling off the road onto the grass.

One person died following a shootout with police on February 13, 2020. Photo / Daniel Hines, SunLive

At this time, Officer B had exited the lead vehicle to assist, while Officer C and Officer D ran alongside to take the offender into custody, though the offender had been killed during this engagement.

“The officers demonstrated bravery in pursuing a motivated offender, who continually took deliberate aimed shots at the AOS team over an extended encounter in proximity to the general public,” said the citation.

“They made a key contribution to the AOS team stopping the offender, thereby removing the risk to the public and to other police personnel.”

In a statement this morning, Police Commissioner Richard Chambers has congratulated 14 serving and two former police staff, recognised as recipients of the New Zealand Bravery Awards which acknowledge the actions of those who save or attempt to save the life of another person while putting their own life at risk.

He said the 16 staff were acknowledged today with the award of the New Zealand Bravery Decoration and New Zealand Bravery Medal.

“The NZBD, presented for an act of exceptional bravery in a situation of danger, is awarded posthumously to Constable Matthew Hunt, who was murdered on duty in West Auckland in June 2020.

“Also receiving the NZBD is a former officer who risked his own life in an attempt to rescue a driver from a burning car.

“The NZBM, recognising an act of bravery, is awarded to Constable Dave Goldfinch, who was with Constable Hunt; two off-duty officers who arrested a knife attacker in a Dunedin supermarket; and four officers from the Bay of Plenty for their bravery under gunfire from a man sought for a double homicide.”

The scene of the fatal shooting. Photo / Daniel Hines, SunLive

Acts of bravery arising from last year’s extreme weather events are acknowledged with the NZBM.

These acknowledge two officers who stayed with a grievously injured firefighter at huge personal risk; a constable honoured for two rescues during the Auckland floods; and four Eastern staff honoured for their lifesaving actions during Cyclone Gabrielle.

Commissioner Richard Chambers congratulated all the recipients.

“I am incredibly proud when I hear about the actions of our people in responding to these dangerous situations,” he said.

“Again and again we see police officers putting themselves in harm’s way to help others and keep our communities safe.

“It’s heartwarming to see our people recognised at such a high level but we also remember the high price sometimes paid by our staff in terms of physical or emotional trauma.”

- SunLive