Source: Radio New Zealand
The cordon in Papatoetoe after Tangaru-Noere Turia was shot by police in 2021. RNZ / Simon Rogers
Tangaru-Noere Turia was showing signs of psychosis and wielding a shotgun when he was killed by police.
But a coroner says better mental health support and interventions could have helped prevent the 2021 shooting.
Turia had lived in Australia since he was six months old, and had his first run in with the law at age 17.
In her findings released on Wednesday, Coroner Erin Woolley said Turia was arrested dozens of times before he was deported to New Zealand under the 501 law in 2017.
“From 2005 until 2016, Noere was convicted of more than 40 criminal offences, including assaults, theft, destroying or damaging property, demanding property with intent to steal, stalking/intimidation, and domestic violence related offences,” Woolley wrote.
“On 18 July 2017, at 30 years of age, Noere was deported from Australia to New Zealand.”
Turia had schizophrenia and a history of psychosis, alongside drug abuse including heroin, meth, alcohol and sedatives.
“He described a pervasive paranoia that people were talking about him, looking at him, and filming him. Noere understood that his thoughts were excessive and not true, and when he was well, he was able to challenge his thinking and ignore it,” the coroner continued.
“However, [he] said these thoughts were noticeably more intense, and he was more likely to act on them when he had been using methamphetamine.”
It was during one of these episodes that Turia, wielding a sawn-off shotgun, shot through his neighbour’s window in February of 2021.
Following a standoff with police lasting several hours, Turia stepped out onto the driveway, his shotgun still in hand.
“At this time Officer A, from his position at the end of the driveway, yelled out to Noere to drop his gun. Noere did not drop the shotgun and Officer A fired three shots,” Woolley recounted.
“Eagle footage records Noere was shot around two seconds after stepping onto the driveway.”
Police at the scene of the shooting in 2021. RNZ / Sarah Robson
An investigation by the Independent Police Conduct Authority found the shooting was unjustified and that the officer did not give Turia enough time to comply.
Rather than revisit the shooting itself, Coroner Woolley instead focused on the mental health support Turia had received after coming to New Zealand.
Despite engaging with several mental health and addiction services, the coroner said they never developed a therapeutic relationship.
“The absence of a therapeutic relationship over the course of his involvement with [mental health services] meant he was unlikely to seek help when he began experiencing psychotic symptoms in February 2021,” she wrote.
Woolley noted that Turia was last discharged in January of 2021, with no follow-up or referral.
“The re-emergence of Noere’s psychosis was not detected. Had he been referred to a community [mental health] team, it is plausible that further face to face contact or a review may have detected his relapse and considered whether any more assertive intervention was warranted.”
Megan Elizabeth, a mental health advocate at Changing Minds. Supplied / Changing Minds
Megan Elizabeth, a mental health advocate at Changing Minds, said the system was difficult to navigate at the best of times, let alone for a 501 deportee.
“It would be really difficult for somebody arriving in the country for the first time, not understanding the landscape, how our systems operate, what those processes are for accessing support.”
Dr Sam White, the executive director of the Addiction Practitioner’s Association, said the issues plaguing the system had worsened since Turia’s death.
“It has definitely got more and more challenging. [Low] staff numbers, freezes on recruitment in addiction, hospital and specialist services that results in longer wait lists, and declined referrals.
“There’s funding and contracting settings that have caused uncertainty around our NGO (non-governmental organisation) services, often they are needing to do more with less.”
Dr White said addiction services were severely under-funded, even compared to the already under-funded mental health sector.
Dr Sam White, the executive director of the Addiction Practitioner’s Association. Supplied / Addiction Practitioner’s Association
“We get nine percent of the funding despite over 25 percent of the presentations, anyone can see the maths isn’t going to work on that,” she said.
“I would note the government has invested in methamphetamine-specific programmes recently, [and] we have had some investment in growing some of the workforce, but, of course, it’s catch up. It’s never enough.”
In a statement, Health NZ noted that the coroner had not identified staff resourcing as a factor in Turia’s death.
“Health New Zealand acknowledges the deep loss experienced by whānau, and loved ones as a result of this death,” Health NZ’s Vanessa Thornton said.
“We acknowledge the Coroner’s findings and recommendations and we will continue to work closely with Corrections on the referral pathway to forensic mental health services.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/05/20/better-mental-health-support-could-have-prevented-tangaru-noere-turias-death-coroner/