New Plymouth labourer Adam Morehu, 33, lost his mother, community leader Tania Bailey, on May 5 after she had a brain aneurysm.
In a stunning coincidence, friends told how Morehu was a childhood friend of Steven Wallace, who was shot dead by Senior Constable Keith Abbott in Waitara in 2000.
In a 2002 interview with the NZ Herald, Morehu, then aged 22, said his close friend Wallace was wrong to have gone on a window-smashing rampage in Waitara before he was shot. "But the pig shouldn't have shot him, he went too far. He could have just put a cap (bullet) in his leg or something."
Morehu's family and friends paid tribute last night to a "big gentle giant".
They said he was a dedicated family man, who left behind a partner and two children under 10.
But he also had a history of burglary and drug offences. Police are also investigating other burglaries in New Plymouth in recent months which may be linked to the golf club one.
Police were alerted after Morehu and an unidentified co-offender tripped silent alarms at the Ngamotu Golf Club, off State Highway 3, New Plymouth, just after 4am yesterday.
Two male police officers arrived at the golf club to find shattered glass windows and two offenders trying to flee the scene on a motorbike.
Assistant Commissioner Grant Nicholls said the two burglars crashed the motorbike down a bank while trying to escape and a police dog was released.
Nicholls said Morehu became aggressive towards police and told officers he was going to kill them before firing a sawn-off rifle at the officers.
"While the offender was going through his back pack an officer has removed a Glock from the police vehicle," said Nicholls.
He heard the offender reloading his firearm and he was shot by police."
The officers performed first aid on Morehu and he was still conscious when an ambulance arrived, but died a short time later.
Three separate investigations have been launched into the shooting.
Nicholls praised the police officer's actions, saying his courage under fire may have saved his and his partner's lives.
Police Minister Anne Tolley said she would wait for the outcome of investigations.
"Any death is tragic. At the same time, we expect our police to protect themselves and the public when there is a threat to life."
Family and friends wept and comforted each other at the golf course as Morehu's body was removed yesterday afternoon.
Patricia O'Carroll, a friend of the family, said Morehu was devastated by his mother's death.
"They just lost their mother a month ago. She was everybody's auntie. Adam was broken after his mum died and now the family have lost him. He was a dickhead but he was a dad and a good father," she said.
Last night Steven Wallace's mother Raewyn said her son's death was still raw.
"Hearing about this doesn't bring back memories because they are not memories. This hurt doesn't go away. It is still here. It never goes away."
"I am so sorry for the family, this is a terrible tragedy,"Wallace said.
"This family will be going through hell at the moment.
"They are lovely people, and our hearts go out to them."
Morehu had several well-publicised brushes with the law, and a police source said there had been an increase in burglaries in the area recently, about two a week.
The Treehouse pub was broken into by armed offenders who escaped on a motorbike on Christmas Day last year. They were never caught.
Police could not say if the burglaries were linked but it would be part of the investigation.
Another burglary at the Chipmunks Playland and Cafe occurred just hours before the fatal shootout on Friday night.
Manager Vanessa Redshaw said a glass door had been broken just before 4am and items taken.
In 2006, Morehu was charged with the burglary of a cancer charity that he had been involved with helping to relocate.
The Taranaki Daily News reported Morehu was arrested after thousands of dollars of electrical equipment was stolen from the house, which was to benefit cancer patients and their families.
His co-accused Kevin Bishell promised to give evidence against Morehu, but later backtracked and Morehu walked free.
In 2010, Morehu was sentenced to 12 months' home detention for possessing cannabis for supply and possessing pipes for smoking cannabis and methamphetamine.
Morehu reportedly told police he had found a plant near the Waitara golf course.
One of Morehu's close friends, who did not want to be identified, described Morehu as a family man.
He said Morehu was "an everyday good bugger".
He'd had the odd run-in with the law, "but nothing like that".
Morehu's boss of eight years at a house moving company said he was a hard-working "gentle giant".
"He had his problems or issues but I just can't work it out.
"He was a good guy but he obviously had another life that I didn't know about, I only seen the best in him."
He said Morehu was known to police, but only for misdemeanours.
Morehu's mother Tania Bailey founded the Parents Against Pushers anti-drugs group in 1999.
