The Kawerau Siege: March 2016

On 9 March 2016, an annual cannabis eradication operation spiralled into one of New Zealand’s most serious events in recent times. What began as Operation Dee, a cannabis search of scrub and farm land,  ended in a 22 hours standoff, multiple injured police officers and the emergence of Rhys Richard Warren as both an armed resister and a volatile sovereign/pseudolaw adherent

From Cannabis to Gunfire:

At 10:10am that morning two police officers, guided by a spotter plane, arrived at Onepu Spring Road. As they moved across properties, they called out  “Police”  to announce their presence, and cut down any cannabis plants. The officers were wearing blue overalls and high vis vests - leaving their weapons and police vests in their vehicle.  Believing the houses were unoccupied, one officer entered a blackberry scrub at the North end of a property to cut down a cluster of cannabis plants. At 10.32am, the officer heard a loud bang - the opening shot fired by Rhys Richard Warren (RW) (27 yrs old).

The officer took cover and radioed the plane, and as the plane circled back trying to locate the source of the shot,  two more shots followed, one of which was directed at the plane. By 10.39am, a radio call went out and other officers arrived, cordons were put into place as the Armed Offenders Squad (AOS) was activated. At 11.26am, another shot was heard.

By 1pm AOS teams from Tauranga and Rotorua had arrived. Officers attempted to contact the occupant by phone, loud inhailer, and even by throwing stones on the roof, but nothing elicited a response. Although reports suggested the occupant was likely to be RW, there was still no confirmation. After several hours of silence, despite ongoing attempts to initiate contact,  AOS officers walked round the exterior, broke windows and pulled curtains for visibility, and made loud appeals. Warren remained silent and concealed.

By mid-afternoon, AOS commanders authorised six AOS officers to breach the house. They cleared the kitchen, living, and two bedrooms, before advancing further down a hallway. At the end, hidden in an alcove near a bedroom, RW waited silently with a bolt action .303 rifle with a round chambered. At 3.38pm, as Sgt White approached, sighting ahead with his rifle raised, RW fired at near point-blank range. The bullet struck the sight mounting on White’s firearm, shattering fragments into his face. Simultaneously, debris also struck Constable Mauheni, causing catastrophic injuries. Fragments penetrated his head, knocking him unconscious and fracturing his skull.  Sgt White shielded Mauheni on the floor, then as other officers fired extensively in RW’s direction, they evacuated with the wounded. During this chaos RA fired a shot at Constable Finn, whose leg was struck by splinters from a fragmented round. As the AOS withdrew, a police Glock pistol dropped by an injured officer was inadvertently left behind. At 4.53pm RW used the Glock to shoot at Sgt Marsh who was on the perimeter of the property,  the bullet passed through his palm and lodged in the rifle’s magazine. 

By evening, the Special Tactics Group (STG) were flown to the location and three light armoured vehicles were deployed to the scene.  After hours of contact attempts, police negotiators finally reached RW at 2.30am. He continued to resist surrender but kept exchanging messages with friends and whanau (family). By dawn on 10 March, Inspector Warwick Morehu, who knew RW from previous interactions, was on scene. He spoke with RW by phone, and approximately 45 minutes later, more than 22 hours since the incident started, Warren surrendered peacefully at 9am. A subsequent search of the house uncovered two rifles (designed to fire .308 and .303 calibre cartridges respectively), the Glock pistol and magazine, as well as an unloaded sawn-off shotgun and a .22 rifle mechanism - none of which he was licenced to hold.

From his earliest court appearances, RW refused to recognise the court’s authority and often reputed his name was “Mr Warren”. In October 2016 he appeared in Tauranga High Court via video link, declining legal counsel and attempting to “appoint his own representatives”. Justice Timothy Brewer explained that it was not possible, but he could represent himself.  Warren responded by declaring the court had no jurisdiction over him, an assertion he would repeat through all stages of his trial, sentencing, and beyond. Justice Brewer told him no one else believed that [re jurisdiction] and reminded him a trial would take place.  In the meantime RW submitted a number of filings from prison. 

• 30 November 2016: RW appeals against Justice Brewers judgement dated 7 Oct 2016 that dismissed his “protest against the courts jurisdiction” based on his tangata whenua status. The application is dismissed.

• 21 December 2016: RW challenged the “lawfulness” of his detention at Rimutaka Prison as the Corrections Act 2004 was legislated by an “unlawful Parliament".  He claimed to be a member of a Maori Incorporation and applied for a writ of habeas corpus. The application was dismissed as having no merit on 17 January 2017. 

• 2 March 2017: RW sought to appeal against the 17 Jan 2017 decision. He asserted that Maori have ‘internal’ sovereignty over New Zealand and repeated that the Corrections Act was “unlawful”. The appeal was dismissed

Trial March 2017:

The jury trial for RW began in the Hamilton High Court, and lasted three weeks.  RW represented himself but was allowed to have a friend, Jesse Church assist.  RW was able to question the officers he shot, and made statements such as the officers had shot themselves and questions about Maori and police ( two of the AOS officers were Maori).  During his closing address RW said that armed police had entered his home and he was “fighting for his life” ( not mentioning the shoots fired at officers and the plane before the AOS arrived). He also accused the Police of planting evidence and that Crown Witnesses colluded. At another point RW said he did not know the “intruders” were police.  Throughout RW persisted to refute the court’s legitimacy, and produced an affidavit in his defence. He insisted the charges be dropped and sought compensation for $10,000 for personal court costs, breach of his rights and personal trauma. 

The Jury found RW (28 yrs)  guilty on all six charges: including two counts of attempted murder, wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, and using a firearm against a law enforcement officer.  He was remanded to custody for later sentencing however Warren had to be physically removed after a outburst when the verdicts were read.

Outside the court his “advisor” Jesse Church narrated sovereign doctrines as he refuted the legitimacy of the court  and told the media RW’s case was not taken seriously because the New Zealand parliament was unlawful and that Justice was prejudiced and biased. That he was in “treason – Justice Brewer  is guilty of  treason” before claiming that the Police conducted a home invasion with their machine guns and tried to kill RW. Yet again the initial shooting at the plane and officers are omitted from the narrative.

Sentencing Hearing August 2017:

Justice Brewer emphasised the deliberate nature of the shootings but did not accept that it was a pre-mediated ambush.  He stated that Warren clearly knew police were present, and that AOS had entered the house after attempting contact, and that his response represented excessive lethal force. Warren again rejected the court’s jurisdiction, at one point telling the Judge “Sir I rebut the assumption that I am Mr. Warren” however he also apologised stating he did not have a hatred for police. Warren’s statements oscillated between denial and justification: on the one hand claiming police had unlawfully invaded his home while he was “sleeping”, “outnumbered and outgunned”, on the other hand acknowledging “I could have easily killed those officers in my house if I wanted to but that was not my intention”. Justice Brewer reminded Warren that at no time did he give police any sign of his presence prior to the entry into the house, also that the jury had rejected ‘self-defense” as a justification. 

“ ….. You have strong views, repeated today, that you feel entitled to act as you did. You chose to use lethal force in anger and aggressively. You did not have to. All you had to do was pickup the telephone, or make yourself known and none of this would of happened”

As Justice Brewer attempted to get through the sentencing RW objected and stated he did not not accept the court , he was rebuked and told he could stay and listen or he would be removed. After a curt exchange RW sstated he would be appealing and walked out. (into custody room) .The sentencing hearing continued without him and he was sentenced to a minimum of ten years imprisonment in a judgement dated 17 Nov 2017. 

Psychological and Behavioural Profile

The pre-sentencing reports revealed a history of reactive violence against authority. RW refused to undergo new psychological or psychiatric assessments. He told Doctor Halliday that he did not have to as the New Zealand Crown was fraudulent as there was no constitution, and therefore he was being illegally detained .

Dr Halliday reported RW had paranoid thinking and conspiracy ideation. He revealed that prison staff report he was “aggressive, non-compliant, abusive, paranoid, and self entitled”.  Since he had been remanded in March, he had incurred 16 misconduct reports for various behaviours: fighting, challenging staff to fights, disobeying lawful orders, threatening staff, sparring, and vandalism. While caveating his report as tentative due to RW’s lack of full engagement, Dr Halliday reported his childhood was uneventful until early adolescence when he aligned with an “anti-social peer group”. The report listed  RW : 

• Had anti establishment views towards the NZ Government

• Challenges the legitimacy of NZ government bodies and disregards their authority.

• Over time this includes those that work in the public sector

• Frames anyone that challenges him as removing his ‘indigenous rights’.

• Feels justified in using a “high-level of force” and violence to redress control and his “rights”.

• Holds a core belief “I will do what I want” and if autonomy challenged he becomes aggressive.

• Embodies a belief system legitimises the use of violence through a anti-european and anti-system stance

• Behaviour is incongruent with the values ascribed through Te Ao Maori

• Perceives himself as a target of injustice by Police who conspire against him.

In summary the Dr Halliday surmised the most plausible scenario was for continued reactive violence due to a disregard for societal norms and authority. A psychiatric assessment dated May 2016 by Dr Skipworth found no indication of mental illness.

Prior Offences

Rhys Warren’s history of violent confrontations with authority began long before the Kawerau Seige of 2016. In September 2009, while aged 20, he seriously assault Mr McLeod, a 66 year old Kawerau District Council dog ranger who visited his property to seize an unregistered dog. Warren’s assault on McLeod included punching and kicking to the ground, striking him with a piece of 4x2 timber, and turning the hose on him. The injuries were severe and the attack only ended when neighbours intervened. He pled guilty and expressed remorse, ultimately receiving 4 years, 3 months imprisonment.

While he was on bail awaiting sentencing, Warren attacked a police officer sent to check on his bail compliance. After a passive breath test indicated alcohol consumption, he lashed out, punching and biting the officer. He told the court he regretted his actions but the incident reinforced a pattern of hostility to authorities. he received eight months imprisonment for this offence. 

Ongoing Submissions:

In one of his ongoing submissions RW claimed to be “ Te Tangata Whenua, in counsil (sic) “ …. 3rd party to the Corporate title, the juristic person, a legal fiction the deceased estate RHYS WARREN”.

December 2020: RW utilised a new  sovereign name “Te Rangatira Tangata Whenua” . Yet another habeas corpus application was dismissed so he lodged another appeal based on his sovereign arguments, which the justice notes as his third application. 

July 2021: Judgement of the Supreme Court: Relating to an appeal dated 19 May 2021. Dismissed.

May 2022: Judgement: Court of Appeal. “Throughout all stages of proceedings, Mr Warren has asserted that the laws of New Zealand do not apply to him…………”. On the 25 March 2022, communications from RW requested orders for his immediate release on the grounds he was not “subject to the laws of New Zealand”.

Conclusion: The Legal Legacy

Ultimately, despite Rhys Richard Warren's relentless challenges and his refusal to acknowledge the court's authority, the legal system prevailed. His conviction and subsequent sentence of preventive detention were upheld through multiple levels of appeal, including the Supreme Court. Warren remains in prison, his case serving as a prominent example of the clash between sovereign ideologies, indigenous (mis)attribution, and New Zealand's legal framework. The officers remain with after-effects today and this incident also initiated Police dogs wearing protective ‘paw’ wear . This is a case that shows how sovereign / pseudolaw beliefs cause a lot of harm for many people including the adherent themselves.