Buckley died after a shootout with police after he pointed a banned semi-automatic weapon at them outside his Hillcrest home.
Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon

A detective who visited Joel Buckley five months before he was shot dead by police told an inquest it was not his role to check whether the Hamilton man was still in possession of a military type rifle.

Buckley died after a shootout with police on July 14, 2021 after pointing a banned semi-automatic weapon at them outside his Hillcrest home.

At an inquest into Buckley’s death, Detective Constable Brodie McQuilkin said he discovered the day after the visit that Buckley was probably still in possession of the gun, although it should have been returned. during the buyout program following the Christchurch mosque attacks.

However, he did not inform police personnel responsible for licensing and gun control, as he said it was not his role to investigate or become further involved.

The inquest, which began in Hamilton Coroner’s Court on Friday, heard that McQuilkin was concerned about Buckley’s behavior when he and another officer visited him in February 2021.

He said Buckley’s appearance was disheveled; he wore two jerseys – one of them torn – he had a distinctive mohawk and sported tattoos on his arm that said “hostile” and “unfaithful”.

McQuilkin testified that Buckley seemed unable to stand or speak properly, mumbling his words and leaning against the door frame with his mouth open and his eyes rolling.

Buckley explained his behavior by saying he worked night shifts.

McQuilkin pulled out his police phone and secretly filmed the interaction, telling the court he had never done this before in 11 years of police service.

Immediately after the visit, he forwarded the video to staff at the firearms unit he had worked with previously, as he was concerned that Buckley was not a suitable firearms license holder – a detail that he knew from searching Buckley in the police intelligence system.

This was despite Buckley having a Class B license, which meant he was previously subject to higher security and screening requirements.

After receiving the video, a firearms staff member messaged McQuilkin saying he had dealt with Buckley on several buyouts and that he was an “unusual” character.

McQuilkin said he thought firearms staff would conduct their own investigations after receiving the video, but Chris Gudsell, KC – the coroner’s attorney – stressed they did nothing.

McQuilkin also did not add an alert to the police system about what he found.

He searched Buckley again in the system after a second visit in February and again in June, but could not explain to the court why he did so the third time.

The Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA), which investigated after Buckley’s death, said the police were right to shoot him that night. However, the IPCA also found “significant failures” in decisions relating to Buckley’s firearms license, and said the matter was not dealt with in a timely manner.

Police said they received information from a phone call to the emergency communications center on July 9 that Buckley had made threats against other people and was a gun owner, but the person who answered the call miscoded the call.

Three days later, police visited Buckley’s former associate to obtain relevant information. They continued like this for the next two days.

On July 14, Buckley became aware of police inquiries and a police risk assessment determined that he should be located and arrested that day.

Police went to locate Buckley at his home, however, a confrontation began and shots were fired by police and Buckley. Buckley died at the scene from gunshot wounds.

McQuilkin said he had never read the IPCA report and was unaware that it criticized police actions regarding three visits to Buckley in 2019 and 2021, including the visit to which McQuilkin was involved.

The report says if the increasingly frequent visits had been made and the type of behavior, and if Buckley had been warned, suspended or had his firearms license revoked, it could have changed the outcome.

The investigation continues next week.

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