There are reports that the Napier siege has ended in the only way it could. Jan Molenaar has apparently shot himself. So ends the tragedy. What a clusterfuck.
It's not the cops at fault. Their response to this has been pretty damned good. The LAV was inspired, both as a defensive retrieval as well the the psychology of it. The guys driving the LAV would have been people Jan Molenaar could have related to, him being a former Territorial.
The journos covering the siege have also been pretty good. If ever there was a story fit for live crosses, it is this. But a pox on the subeditors at the Herald and Stuff. If MacDoctor can diagnose Spam Journalism, I call dibs on this strain I call Subjudging. This is where headlines completely misrepresent an otherwise balanced story.
Unable to portray as a gang member, brown or Young Feral Teen, Jan Molenaar is a "loner". Who lived with his partner. His "short fuse" resided in a calm, collected person. A neighbour referred to him in the TV3 report as an "average normal father".
Stuff has gone for the Rambo angle, from the money quote:
"The guy is a total Rambo, OK? I've never met another person that's fitter than him. He's a very good marksman, he's just the wrong person. Wrong person, wrong place, wrong time, the police should have f...ing known. That's their business."...That's from Molenaar's friend and business partner Arthur Hyde. This was Rambo the peaceful honourable one from First Blood, who gets pushed once too far by the cops, not the one shooting down helicopters from all the other movies.
It's bloody awful that Senior Constable Len Snee is dead. Family man, friend and good keen rugby player to those who knew him. Much like Jan Molenaar. Both were in their early fifties, both took good care of themselves and the ones they cared for.
These points had better not get lost in the media trying to force a good guy/bad guy narrative on this. It doesn't fit that mould. Give this "Man Alone" a bloody fucking chance.
