A man shot by police on Saturday morning had approached them with a machete, police say.
Emergency services were first alerted to an address in Onehunga around 3:10am after a member of the public reported that a man known to her had been acting erratically. The woman had left the address as she feared for her safety, a police spokesperson said.
Around 20 minutes later, a rural police officer spotted a vehicle parked on State Highway 1 near Topuni with its hazard lights on. When the officer pulled in behind the car to see if the driver needed assistance, the vehicle drove off.
When the police car followed, the car stopped again. This time the driver of the car got out and came around to the driver door of the police car, threatening the officer with a machete.
"The officer quickly retreated and called for backup and watched the offender from a safe distance; however, the offender then got back into his car and headed south on SH1 towards Puhoi," the spokesperson said.
The Eagle helicopter was called in and was able to monitor the situation from above.
The spokesperson believed the offending car was driving at speeds of up to 150km/h, at times with its lights off.
Around 3:50am the car was spiked on SH1 near Mahurangi West Rd. The officers approached the car but were confronted by the man with a machete, they said. It was at this point the police fired shots.
"The officers immediately administered first aid and called for an ambulance, however the man died at the scene from his injuries."
Police said the man was a 29-year-old from east Auckland. His name will not be released until formal identification has taken place.
Waitemata district commander Superintendent Tusha Penny said the situation was a tragic outcome and sympathies were with the deceased man's family.
"We have ensured that Victim Support is available to them and we will support them through this process.
"No police officer comes to work wanting to end up in a situation like this. Their welfare is paramount and we have steps in place to make sure they are looked after."
State Highway 1 had been closed to allow police to complete a scene examination, it was reopened at 3:55pm.
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