Kiwi army officer dismissed for shooting British Marine

An officer has been thrown out of the New Zealand Army for deliberately shooting a British soldier during a drunken row.

The soldiers were on peacekeeping duties in Bosnia.

Capt Jose Cooper was found guilty at court martial of shooting Sgt Lee Aston with a 9mm gun at an army house.

Cooper, who belonged to the Royal New Zealand Logistics Regiment, had been liaising with British troops, and covering a temporary vacancy.

Sgt Aston, a marine, joined Cooper and some others at the house in Vitez where they started drinking in August last year. The group then moved to a local cafe and drank more.

Cooper left the cafe saying he felt strange and that he thought his drink had been spiked. The group then returned to the house and after an argument the shooting took place.

A New Zealand Army spokesman says Cooper, who had been in the services for nearly 20 years, is "shattered" by the sentence.

He said: "To be dismissed from the army, it's quite a big deal. Obviously it's his career gone. Naturally he is pretty shattered by that and he's looking forward to returning home next week."

Cooper had pleaded guilty to having a weapon with live ammunition while drunk and driving after drinking, reports the Stuff website.