The Police watchdog's found an Auckland officer who shot at an armed man in a fleeing car, was in the wrong

Police pursued the man on Auckland's Southern Motorway in 2021, before a confrontation in Ellerslie.

The IPCA's found the officer shouldn't have fired at the passenger, even though they pointed a firearm at him - with too great a risk of hitting the driver or members of the public.

It's found officers were justified in later firing four shots - seriously injuring the offender - when he aimed at police in Hillsborough.

Police say the officer only had seconds to pick an action, and thankfully no one else was hurt or killed.