A Diplomatic Protection Squad police officer once shot a hole in the side of an airborne plane carrying former Prime Minister Jim Bolger, it has been revealed.
The DPS guards the prime minister and leader of the opposition, usually keeping a low profile.
But the decision to completely surround incoming Prime Minister John Key on election night with a tight ring of officers has raised questions about its tactics.
In a discussion panel on Radio New Zealand yesterday Mr Bolger's former chief press secretary Richard Griffin said some officers were extremely gung ho and one had once shot a hole in the side of an airborne plane carrying the prime minister.
Asked about the incident today, Mr Griffin told NZPA it had occurred on an "Air Force VIP" flight in the 1990s.
He said DPS officers were supposed to take their Glock pistols out and disarm them.
"In the process of taking his Glock out and disarming it he managed to discharge it, in the air." He said there was no loss of pressure in the cabin and the flight continued, despite "a bit of panic".
"No one was really quite sure what had happened." Mr Bolger was "sanguine" about the incident.
He said the officer was mortified by the incident and was no longer with the police.
Mr Griffin, a former Radio New Zealand political editor who was Mr Bolger's chief press in the mid-1990s, declined to reveal more details, saying he did not want to embarrass the DPS.
"I don't want to embarrass the DPS further, but it's one of those things that's vaguely amusing in retrospect."
The DPS has said the heightened security for Mr Key on election night was purely to allow him to move unimpeded, due to the large number of supporters and media who wanted to get close to him.
