A police officer has told a depositions hearing in Oamaru District Court that a man accused of using a firearm against police used a toddler as a human shield.
Christopher Shaw, 25, and Stacey Snelleksz, 20, face numerous charges, including using a firearm against six police officers and wilfully ill-treating two children in their custody - a girl aged three and a boy aged one.
Constable Ryan Mitchell told the court about pursuing the pair across farmland on foot during the incident in Palmerston, east Otago, in February.
He said the accused were carrying a child each, and Mr Shaw also held a firearm which he regularly aimed at police.
Constable Mitchell said it seemed Mr Shaw was using the child as a shield.
