Steven Wallace

The police could have backed out and walked away but kept an eye on him as I had ... he was breaking windows, he didn't need to be shot.

– Eyewitness Tom Kettle remembers the night Waitara man Steven Wallace was shot by police

Since colonial times in this land the Crown came with guns and Māori had sticks...

– Dr Ranginui Walker places the death of Steven Wallace within New Zealand's colonial history

Why did the police go and get a gun and then return and shoot the boy? Why did he have to be shot and killed? Why couldn't they just wound him?

– Waitara kaumātua Te Aramau Lake sums up a key question about Steven Wallace's death

He was good at everything, golf, cards...quite a funny fella too, a real hard case.

– Moses Kemp describes his childhood friend Steven Wallace.

We have yet to shed the ordeal of the Paihaka invasion.

– Ngati Ruanui Kaumatua Huirangi Waikerepuru on the painful memories of the 1880 Parihaka police raid

At the burial anger and accusations mounted from both sides. The Prime Minister waded into the furore stating the relationship between Police and Māori had not been good. She strongly advised a public inquiry.

– Excerpt from the documentary, describing the anger and hurt after the death of Steven Wallace

It will happen again. My advice to police is to wait; they should think 'the man or woman is angry' but police have guns. We should talk and perhaps get someone else to calm the situation down.

– Te Tai Tonga MP Mahara Okeroa on the escalation of emotions when police confronted Steven Wallace in April 2001

My question to the MPs of Parliament is this: what are you doing?

– Waitara kaumātua Noble Nicholas asks a basic question

The death of this boy became a national disaster. We felt deeply. The town Waitara was really shocked. It was wrong for him to smash windows of the town but it wasn't right to shoot him because of what he did.

– Kaumātua Jim Bailey expresses the pain of his Waitara community