NZ cop shot dead in undercover operation

Senior New Zealand police say the death of an officer gunned down outside a suspected drug lab is "gut wrenching" but they have defended their handling of the covert operation.
A 46-year-old sergeant was shot dead outside the south Auckland house early on
Thursday and another undercover officer seriously injured.
The unarmed officers were gunned down after they were spotted planting a tracking
device on a car outside the house about 1.45am (23:45 AEST Wednesday).
The sergeant and his partner had fled the property, allegedly chased by men in a car.
The officers were shot despite the presence of a five-strong back-up team a block
away, and police have admitted they did not know those inside the house were armed.
Neither of the shot officers carried guns or wore bullet-proof vests.
Two men, who cannot be named for legal reasons, have been charged and on Thursday
appeared in an Auckland court over the attack.
The dead officer was named as Sergeant Don Wilkinson and police said he died from a
single gunshot wound.
The surviving officer was allegedly bashed as he lay on the ground after being shot
several times. He was described on Thursday afternoon as being in a "comfortable
condition" in hospital.
New Zealand Police Commissioner Howard Broad on Thursday promised an investigation
into the operation but also defended the actions of police.
"Regrettably events unfolded too quickly for other (back-up) officers to be able to
respond and intervene and we now have this tragedy," Broad said.
"This is a covert operation so to have all of our capability deployed outside the
target address isn't consistent with the purpose of the operation.
"From the briefings that I have received this morning, it would appear that the
procedures that we have for these sort of operations have been followed."
Superintendent Ted Cox, from the crime and operations service, said the situation
would have been handled differently if police had thought those inside the home were
armed.
"If we knew there were weapons in the house we would have approached it entirely
differently," he said.
Cox said the back-up team did not hear the gunshots but responded within seconds of
getting a radio call from the surviving officer.
"They simply had to drive around the block looking for our people and unfortunately
came across the situation of one officer deceased on the scene and the other badly
injured."
Police Association President Greg O'Connor said it was impossible to plan for every
contingency in undercover operations.
"There is a thing called the fog of war. The nature of our beast is that you only
ever plan so much," he said.
"South Auckland is clearly getting more violent. It is a violent part of the world,
and that violence is directed towards everyone, including police officers."
Detective Inspector John Tims said the police were a tight family and when one got
hurt, all were affected.
It is a tough day, it is gut wrenching, it is just tough, Tims told journalists.
Prime Minister Helen Clark said it was a sad day for the officers' families and the
entire police force and they had her deepest sympathy.
"Police serve our community well, and it is a tragedy that a police officer has been
killed in the line of duty," she said.
Two men aged in their 30s appeared in an Auckland courtroom in connection to the
incident.
One of the men was charged with murder, and the other was charged with assault.
Both were remanded in custody until September 23.