Police in New Zeland have paid tribute to Constable Matthew Hunt, who was shot and killed in the line of duty.
On 19th June at around 10:30 hours, Constable Hunt and his colleague were on patrol when they noticed a suspicious vehicle being driven in the suburb of Massey.
They indicated for the vehicle to stop, but it sped off from them.
Constable Hunt and his colleague went after the car. The driver of the fleeing vehicle collided with a member of the public before they caught up with him.
As officers arrived at the scene of the collision, a male emerged from the suspect’s car. He started firing at the two officers with an automatic weapon as they exited their patrol vehicle, giving them little chance to defend themselves.
Both officers were shot with multiple rounds, and Constable Hunt tragically succumbed to his injuries.
The member of the public who was in the vehicle that the suspect’s car had hit was also seriously injured.
Constable Hunt’s colleague was rushed to hospital and underwent life-saving surgery.
A 24-year-old male has been charged with murder, attempted murder and dangerous driving causing injury.
A video was uploaded to the Waikato Police Facebook page this morning, as hundreds of officers paid tribute to their fallen colleague.
In the video, a senior officer, flanked by Constable Hunt’s colleagues, hands a folded up NZ flag to the fallen officers family.
Officers then perform a traditional Haka for their fallen colleague, before a procession, led by bagpipers, takes Constable Hunt to his final resting place.
A spokesperson for Waikato Police said: “In loving memory of Constable Matthew Hunt. We together, will never forget him”.
Constable Hunt was just 28-years-old when he was murdered in cold blood. He had served with the New Zealand Police for two-and-a-half years.
If you have a story you want to tell, or video you want to share, send it to Emergency Services News via contact@emergency-services.news
Police Constable Matthew Hunt 1991 – 2020 #RIP
Can you help Emergency Services News?
We when set our website up in November 2018, we had a straightforward mission: to bring our readers factual stories, which are free from negative bias but which are enriched with qualified experience.
Each member of our in-house team of writers has served in either the armed forces, emergency services or NHS.
This means that we can bring our readers not only the stories which matter but also stories without the negative spin.
But we cannot do this without your help. As ad revenue – the staple income of most publishers – continues to fluctuate, then we need the help of our supporters and readers more than ever.
Become a donor: You can make a one-off or reoccurring donation via Paypal. CLICK HERE to become a donor
Before you go...
We need your help. As former emergency services & armed forces personnel, we pride ourselves on bringing you important, fast-moving and breaking news stories which are free from the negative bias which is often directed at the emergency services by some sections of the mainstream media.
One of the reasons we started 'Emergency Services News' was because we became tired of reading badly informed stories about the emergency services which seemed only ever to highlight negative aspects of the job.
We want to be the unheard voice of the remarkable men and women who serve in the emergency services, NHS and armed forces. And with around 500k page views each month, we are getting there!
As income from ads, the mainstay source of income for most publishers, continues to decline; we need the help of our readers.
And remember, if you have a service, product or job vacancy that you would like to promote to our large readership, then you can buy advertising space in our articles.
You can support emergency services news from as little as £1. It only takes a minute. Every contribution, however big or small, is vital for our future.
Please help us to continue to highlight the life-saving work of the emergency services, NHS and armed forces by becoming a supporter.
