The shooting and killing of an armed man outside an Upper Hutt McDonald's last year has been laid bare in an independent report saying police were "justified" and "effective" in their actions.
Pera Smiler was killed on September 8 after he entered the fast food outlet during the busy lunchtime period with a gun.
A report into the shooting, released by the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) on Tuesday, found the officers' response to the situation was "justified, immediate and effective", and acknowledged their bravery.
On the day, Police received a number of 111 calls around 12:39pm about Smiler firing a rifle inside the store, and were told he was "shooting at people" and had "already shot someone".
There were a lot of people in the area at the time, and the incident was captured on cellphone footage as well as CCTV.
Hutt Valley officers armed themselves and went to the scene not knowing who Smiler was or his intentions.
After they'd arrived, Smiler fired twice at police from the back of the store - one bullet only narrowly missing the acting sergeant who was moving toward the McDonald's with other officers.
An off-duty armed offenders squad officer and an AOS dog handler happened to be in Upper Hutt and heard about the unfolding situation.
Thinking it was too serious to wait to be officially called out, the pair armed themselves with the handler collecting his police dog on the way.
Back at the scene, the acting sergeant confronted an "agitated and aggressive" Smiler who'd moved outside the McDonald's on Wakefield St.
The sergeant aimed his Bushmaster M4 and for the next 10 minutes called on him to drop his weapon and surrender but to no avail.
By then, the AOS officers and the police dog arrived from the main cordon and saw Smiler standing in the middle of the street with his back to them.
He turned around and raised the barrel of his rifle to them.
Fearing he was about to shoot, the officer fired twice at Smiler while the acting sergeant shot once at the same time.
Smiler died at the scene.
At the time, a witness told Newshub how they'd tried to calm Smiler down.
John Philipson, 84, was inside the McDonald's waiting for members of his Tuesday Chaps Club when Smiler entered the store.
"I thought it was a firecracker, I thought, these damn kids are letting crackers go in here. As it turned out, here was Billy the Kid running around here with his rifle.
"My first reaction was to try and placate him. I was going to remonstrate with him but a bloke behind me said, 'C'mon, this guy means business. Let's get out of here'. So at that stage everyone tried to follow us out."
Mr Philipson, a former wrestler, said he'd thought about "having a go" at Smiler but thought again.
"I'm a bit old now, which is just as well".
In issuing the report, IPCA chair Sir David Carruthers said the officers who ran toward the danger "did so at great personal risk in order to protect the public".
Newshub.
