The New Zealand Bravery Medal:
ALLISON, Sergeant Sophie Christina
New Zealand Police
Citation
Mid-afternoon on 10 May 2021, a man with a short kitchen knife in each hand attacked a staff member at a supermarket in central Dunedin, causing multiple wounds as she tried to defend herself. Several shoppers and staff in the busy supermarket attempted to restrain the offender during his frenzied attack, which occurred in little over a minute, with four people in total sustaining stab wounds.
Constable Sophie Allison (now Sergeant), an off-duty Police officer, was shopping in the store at the time. She heard screaming and saw people running, so moved towards the commotion to investigate. She saw blood, a person lying on the floor, and the offender struggling with a staff member and members of the public. At this point, the offender broke free and stabbed a woman who was involved in the struggle. The offender then grabbed a man who intervened, stabbing him several times. Constable Allison attempted to pull the offender off the man. The offender swung his arm around, catching Constable Allison in the head.
At this time another off-duty Police officer, Detective Constable Jeremy Toschi, was throwing items at the offender to distract him. Constable Allison grabbed a plastic chair and used it to pin the offender to the ground. She saw a knife still in the offender’s right hand and threw her bodyweight down on top of him to stop him getting up. She grabbed the offender’s wrist, preventing him from manoeuvring his arm while holding the knife. Assisted by another woman holding his arm and Detective Constable Toschi, Constable Allison held the offender in place and, with the others, repeatedly directed him to drop the knife. Constable Allison used her other arm to control the offender’s left arm beneath his body, to ensure he did not have another knife. Eventually the offender dropped the knife, with uniformed Police then arriving to arrest the offender.
Constable Allison demonstrated bravery by entering the struggle with the offender without hesitation, attempting to pull the offender off a wounded person and restraining the offender to prevent further harm.
The New Zealand Bravery Medal:
ANDREW, Mr Ronald Stewart (Ron)
Citation
Mid-afternoon on 10 May 2021, a man with a short kitchen knife in each hand attacked a staff member at a supermarket in central Dunedin, causing multiple wounds as she tried to defend herself. Several shoppers and staff in the busy supermarket attempted to restrain the offender during his frenzied attack, which occurred in little over a minute, with four people in total sustaining stab wounds.
The store manager Mr Ron Andrew was working an office upstairs at the time of the incident. He heard screaming and headed downstairs to the pharmacy aisle where he was passed by a staff member who said he had been stabbed. Mr Andrew then saw other colleagues and members of the public struggling with the offender. Mr Andrew called emergency services while attempts were made to restrain the offender. Two off-duty Police officers assisted by others had pinned the offender to the ground while he continued to struggle. Mr Andrew held the offender’s legs to stop him kicking out. While repositioning, Mr Andrew was kicked in the knee which knocked him over. He got back to his feet and noticed the offender had let go of one of the knives. Mr Andrew kicked the knife away, before picking it up and handing it to uniformed Police when they arrived to arrest the offender.
Mr Andrew demonstrated bravery in joining the struggle with the offender without hesitation and helped prevent further harm by removing a knife from the situation, after having been knocked over trying to restrain the offender.
The New Zealand Bravery Medal:
ANDREWS, Mr Michael Thomas John (Mike)
Citation
Mid-afternoon on 3 September 2021, a man, who had been under intense Police surveillance, entered a supermarket in New Lynn, Auckland and acquired a large kitchen knife, which he used to indiscriminately attack people across several aisles of the store. Within minutes, the offender caused significant injuries to five individuals and attempted to attack members of the public and staff who had barricaded themselves in a storeroom, before being fatally shot by Police officers.
Mr Mike Andrews was present in the supermarket at the time of the attack, hearing people yell that someone had a knife, before moving towards the commotion with another male shopper. Mr Andrews then observed two wounded individuals fall to the ground.
The offender returned to a woman he had previously attacked, who was lying on the ground, crouching over the woman to stab her. Mr Andrews saw this and approached the offender, shouting at him to distract him away from the woman. Other shoppers joined Mr Andrews in attempting to distract the offender. The offender reacted by trying to stab Mr Andrews before moving away. Mr Andrews followed the offender, intending to keep an eye on him and distract him further.
The shoppers distracting the offender moved to opposite ends of an aisle, putting distance and barriers between them. At this time, two Police officers arrived to confront the offender, who was subsequently fatally shot. Mr Andrews then assisted in providing first aid, removing his shirt and applying pressure to one individual’s wound.
The New Zealand Bravery Medal:
BALENIVALU, Mr Meli Graham Leighton Benjamin
Citation
Mid-afternoon on 10 May 2021, a man with a short kitchen knife in each hand attacked a staff member at a supermarket in central Dunedin, causing multiple wounds as she tried to defend herself. Several shoppers and staff in the busy supermarket attempted to restrain the offender during his frenzied attack, which occurred in little over a minute, with four people in total sustaining stab wounds.
A supermarket employee, Mr Meli Balenivalu, was working nearby at the time. He heard a scream and ran to the pharmacy aisle where he saw the wounded staff member on the ground and found a supermarket supervisor, Mr Dallas Wilson, attempting to restrain the offender. Mr Balenivalu saw a knife in the offender’s hand and grabbed his wrist to attempt to stop him hurting anyone else. During the struggle the offender broke free, pushing Mr Balenivalu into the shelves and stabbing Mr Wilson multiple times.
Mr Balenivalu pushed the offender away and told the injured Mr Wilson to run. At this time another man had intervened and attempted to disarm the offender. The offender turned his attention on the man and his wife, stabbing them multiple times. Mr Balenivalu retreated at this time and began directing other shoppers to an exit at the rear of the store. The offender was eventually restrained by other shoppers until uniformed Police arrived to arrest him.
Mr Balenivalu acted without hesitation to assist his colleagues, demonstrating bravery by entering the struggle with the offender and attempting to disarm him to prevent further harm.
The New Zealand Bravery Medal:
BANCROFT, Constable Mark Thomas
New Zealand Police
Citation
On 14 February 2023 the severe category three Cyclone Gabrielle hit New Zealand and caused widespread devastation in the Eastern District, with a large-scale civil defence emergency response undertaken. Rivers were flooded, stop banks breached and flooding rose rapidly to envelop buildings and landslides swept away homes, while slips, debris and downed bridges prevented movement along much of the roading network.
Constable Mark Bancroft, along with Constables Patrick Noiseux (now Detective Constable) and Kurt Maney were deployed to Pakowhai Road outside Hastings, navigating floodwaters on foot directing people to evacuate. They came across six people who had jumped from a truck to find another route to safe ground and had been caught in a strong current, as the road had channelled the floodwater like a river. The six people managed to cling to a pole to avoid being swept away, but were stranded in chest-high water.
The constables moved to assist the stranded people, though Constable Bancroft and Constable Maney were then swept away by the current along with the six people, while Constable Noiseux managed to secure himself temporarily. Constable Bancroft was able to get his head above water among some trees and called to Constable Noiseux, who spotted him. Bancroft, Maney and the civilians were clinging to the trees. All three constables and the civilians were then pulled under and swept into a large hedge, before managing to secure themselves as best as possible among the tree branches.
Constable Bancroft called the Police Emergency Communication Centre and relayed their situation. At this time, a large transporter truck with a digger and Landcruiser on the trailer approached. Constable Noiseux stopped the truck and requested use of the digger for a rescue.
Two civilians from the truck piloted the digger boom towards the trees where the three constables and the six civilians were. Constable Noiseux entered the digger bucket and Constables Bancroft and Maney helped people climb into the digger bucket, which moved them one at a time to the truck. The constables were the last to use the digger bucket to join the civilians.
With everyone on board, the truck headed towards the Chesterhope Bridge. The stop bank of the Ngaruroro River breached and a wall of water rushed towards them. The water level rose by two and a half metres over 15 minutes, causing those on the truck to have to climb onto its roof for safety and the roof of the Landcruiser on the transporter trailer. The constables contacted the Police Emergency Communication Centre again for rescue assistance. An Inflatable Rescue Boat (IRB) arrived and took the civilians to safety two at a time, until a puncture reduced capacity to one person at a time. The constables remained on the submerged truck roof until all others had been rescued, before being picked up in the IRB.
The New Zealand Bravery Medal:
BRISTOW, Mr Zak Randall
Citation
Late on the night of 18 May 2023, three intoxicated men attempted to gain entry to Hokianga Hospital in Rawene. They were accompanied by a healthcare assistant, as one of the men had a severe laceration to his wrist. A nurse let the group inside the Hospital and directed the wounded man to a bed in the Emergency Room. Two nurses then attempted to clean and assess the injury, but the wounded man was agitated, flailing his arms and acting aggressively. The nurses were the only medical staff on duty.
The three men became increasingly aggressive, verbally abusing the two nurses. They became severely agitated and angry when the nurses and the healthcare assistant attempted to stop them, as they were creating an unsafe and hostile environment for the two nurses and other patients. Two of the men made death threats against the nurses.
The nurses locked themselves in an office and called the Police, but the closest Police station was a 90-minute drive away. The nurses contacted the Rawene Fire Service and volunteer firefighter Mr Zak Bristow, who was on-call, arrived within ten minutes. In this time the men continued to verbally abuse the nurses, demanding they treat the wounded man, and being advised the doctor was on his way. One man broke a door to a patient’s room and assaulted the patient. The doctor arrived and was also punched in the face.
On his arrival, Mr Bristow attempted to speak calmly with the three men, which worked initially before the men became aggressive and violent again. Mr Bristow attempted to intercept the men who were walking towards other patients’ rooms. The men started kicking and punching Mr Bristow, continuing to do so while he was on the ground, while the nurses and doctor stayed in the office. The Police arrived and de-escalated the situation, allowing the doctor to treat the injured man before Police removed the three men.
Mr Bristow demonstrated bravery in distracting three intoxicated, agitated men away from harming hospital staff and patients, receiving injuries as a result.
The New Zealand Bravery Medal:
BROWN, Corporal Adam John
Royal New Zealand Air Force
Citation
On the night of 31 May 2021, a Royal New Zealand Air Force NH90 helicopter was requested by Police Search and Rescue to attempt to rescue multiple people who were trapped by rapidly rising flood waters on the Canterbury Plains. The nighttime conditions were difficult for helicopter operations due to heavy rain, low visibility, very strong winds and a low cloud base.
Corporal Adam Brown had the role of winch person on the crew of the responding RNZAF helicopter. They responded to a man who was trapped in a large pine tree by fast flowing and rapidly rising flood waters, who a swift water rescue team was unable to extract due to the conditions. The only option was to attempt a winch rescue by helicopter, not usually attempted for tree rescues due to entanglement risk.
Corporal Brown was lowered on the winch cable to the base of the tree in an attempt to reach the man in the branches above. Corporal Brown was suddenly submerged in the fast-flowing water and could not raise his head to catch his breath. The winch operator, having lost sight of Corporal Brown, winched him back aboard.
The man in the tree was becoming hypothermic, exhausted and increasingly unable to maintain his position. The man dived into the water to attempt to swim to safety and was swept out of view. The helicopter began searching downriver, with Corporal Brown spotting the man clinging to a submerged tree. The crew considered another winch extraction, noting the risks of fast-flowing water and the difficulty of maintaining a steady position, acknowledging the man would likely be swept away and drowned if he could not be extracted.
Corporal Brown was lowered on the winch cable, avoided being snagged on the submerged tree, and attempted to place a rescue strop over the man. As the man needed one arm to keep himself on the tree and above water, he struggled to secure himself in the strop, which would usually be placed over a person’s head and under both armpits, then requiring the rescued person to support themselves. Corporal Brown determined an improvised winch technique would be required. With the man partially in the strop, Corporal Brown wrapped his arms around the man’s torso in a ‘bear hug’ to prevent him from falling.
The helicopter crew raised Corporal Brown and the man out of the water, noticing that the man was not secure and could fall. Rather than winching them onboard, the helicopter lifted Corporal Brown and the man at a low height to a nearby riverbank, while Corporal Brown stayed wrapped around the man. The rescued man was then handed over to Police Search and Rescue personnel.
The New Zealand Bravery Medal:
CLAYTON, Ms Hope Angeline Louise
Citation
Mid-afternoon on 10 May 2021, a man with a short kitchen knife in each hand attacked a staff member at a supermarket in central Dunedin, causing multiple wounds as she tried to defend herself. Several shoppers and staff in the busy supermarket attempted to restrain the offender during his frenzied attack, which occurred in little over a minute, with four people in total sustaining stab wounds.
Ms Hope Clayton was shopping with family when she heard screaming and went into the aisle. She saw the offender stabbing the wounded employee on the ground. Ms Clayton approached the offender from behind and struck him twice hard in the back of the head with her mobile phone, hoping to distract him away from the staff member. She then backed away realising the danger the offender posed and yelled “man with a knife” to alert others. At this time other staff and members of the public had moved to assist. The offender was restrained until uniformed Police arrived.
Ms Clayton acted without hesitation to attempt to distract the offender away from the wounded staff member, demonstrating bravery.
The New Zealand Bravery Medal:
GOLDFINCH, Constable David Joseph
New Zealand Police
Citation
Mid-morning on 19 June 2020, Constable Matt Hunt and Constable David Goldfinch were on traffic duty in West Auckland in a Police vehicle. A vehicle approached from the opposite direction which caught the officers’ attention, and a check of the Police system found that the vehicle owner was the subject of several Police alerts. They activated their lights and followed the vehicle, intending to perform a traffic stop.
The vehicle sped off and, as the officers followed, it lost control and crashed into a parked vehicle, which was being loaded by a member of the public, who was injured in the collision. The fleeing vehicle sustained crash damage making it inoperable. Constable Goldfinch exited the Police vehicle intending to provide first aid to those involved in the crash. However, the occupant of the crashed vehicle exited and pointed a semi-automatic firearm at Constable Goldfinch. Constable Goldfinch was unarmed and attempted to reason with the offender to put down his weapon. The offender responded by firing at Constable Goldfinch.
Constable Goldfinch ran and took cover behind parked vehicles across the road, as the offender fired in his direction. The offender attempted to locate and shoot Constable Goldfinch as he moved around a parked vehicle, eventually firing through the roof of the vehicle in Constable Goldfinch’s direction.
Constable Goldfinch ran further down the road in a zig-zag pattern to avoid being hit, as the offender continued to fire at him. Constable Goldfinch was struck by bullets four times, sustaining wounds to his hip and calf. Despite his injuries, he ran down a driveway, jumped over a fence and took shelter. He radioed the Police Comms Centre with the offender’s details and their location.
The offender returned to the Police vehicle where he fatally shot Constable Hunt, retrieved a second firearm from his crashed vehicle and threatened a nearby resident, forcing her to drive him away from the scene in another vehicle. Constable Goldfinch, unaware of what happened to Constable Hunt, was picked up by passing workers and given first aid.
The New Zealand Bravery Medal:
HEAD, Constable Joshua Claude (Josh)
New Zealand Police
Citation
On 14 February 2023 the severe category three Cyclone Gabrielle hit New Zealand and caused widespread devastation in Auckland. Police were called to Muriwai to assist Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) with evacuation of residents and to search for two missing firefighters who had been buried under a massive landslide.
Constable Josh Head arrived on the scene and joined Constable Maxwell Lewis in the search for the missing firefighters. The nighttime conditions were treacherous, with heavy rain, high winds, flooding and multiple slips. Constable Head located one of the firefighters, who was well buried and barely visible. Constable Lewis then worked with FENZ and Urban Search and Rescue to free the firefighter. Constable Head remained with the firefighter, holding his hand and providing reassurance.
They worked solely by FENZ lighting illuminating the area, with the rest of the environment in pitch darkness. The earth continued to shift and slip around the area. At one point, a crack and rumble resounded and one of the Urban Search and Rescue team yelled for people to evacuate as a slip pushed a house down the cliff in their direction. Constables Lewis and Head remained with the firefighter and braced themselves, as the slip passed by six metres away.
After a considerable period, the firefighter was extracted and taken to hospital, dying from his injuries several days later.
The New Zealand Bravery Medal:
KHAN, Mr Rodney James (Rod)
Citation
Mid-afternoon on 3 September 2021, a man, who had been under intense Police surveillance, entered a supermarket in New Lynn, Auckland and acquired a large kitchen knife, which he used to indiscriminately attack people across several aisles of the store. Within minutes, the offender caused significant injuries to five individuals and attempted to attack members of the public and staff who had barricaded themselves in a storeroom, before being fatally shot by Police officers.
Mr Rod Khan was present in the supermarket at the time of the attack. He heard screaming and saw a person run past with an injury. Mr Khan saw the offender stabbing a woman who was on the ground. Mr Khan ran towards the offender and threw tins of tuna at him to distract him. Other shoppers joined Mr Khan in attempting to distract the offender away from the woman.
As Mr Khan approached, the offender suddenly turned and lunged at him with the knife. Mr Khan retreated, tripping over a supermarket trolley, dislocating his shoulder but avoiding being stabbed. The offender moved away and other shoppers continued to try to distract him. Mr Khan left the supermarket, assisted by his wife, and received medical treatment for his injury.
The New Zealand Bravery Medal:
LEWIS, Constable Maxwell Allan
New Zealand Police
Citation
On 14 February 2023 the severe category three Cyclone Gabrielle hit New Zealand and caused widespread devastation in Auckland. Police were called to Muriwai to assist Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) with evacuation of residents and to search for two missing firefighters who had been buried under a massive landslide.
Constable Maxwell Lewis arrived on the scene and joined Constable Joshua Head in the search for the missing firefighters. The nighttime conditions were treacherous, with heavy rain, high winds, flooding and multiple slips. Constable Head located one of the firefighters, who was well buried and barely visible. Constable Lewis then worked with FENZ and Urban Search and Rescue to free the firefighter. Constable Head remained with the firefighter, holding his hand and providing reassurance.
They worked solely by FENZ lighting illuminating the area, with the rest of the environment in pitch darkness. The earth continued to shift and slip around the area. At one point, a crack and rumble resounded and one of the Urban Search and Rescue team yelled for people to evacuate as a slip pushed a house down the cliff in their direction. Constables Lewis and Head remained with the firefighter and braced themselves, as the slip passed by six metres away.
After a considerable period, the firefighter was extracted and taken to hospital, dying from his injuries several days later.
The New Zealand Bravery Medal:
MANEY, Constable Kurtis Anthony (Kurt)
New Zealand Police
Citation
On 14 February 2023 the severe category three Cyclone Gabrielle hit New Zealand and caused widespread devastation in the Eastern District, with a large-scale civil defence emergency response undertaken. Rivers were flooded, stop banks breached and flooding rose rapidly to envelop buildings and landslides swept away homes, while slips, debris and downed bridges prevented movement along much of the roading network.
Constable Kurt Maney, along with Constables Mark Bancroft and Patrick Noiseux (now Detective Constable) were deployed to Pakowhai Road outside Hastings, navigating floodwaters on foot directing people to evacuate. They came across six people who had jumped from a truck to find another route to safe ground and had been caught in a strong current, as the road had channelled the floodwater like a river. The six people managed to cling to a pole to avoid being swept away, but were stranded in chest-high water.
The constables moved to assist the stranded people, though Constable Bancroft and Constable Maney were then swept away by the current along with the six people, while Constable Noiseux managed to secure himself temporarily. Constable Bancroft was able to get his head above water among some trees and called to Constable Noiseux, who spotted him. Bancroft, Maney and the civilians were clinging to the trees. All three constables and the civilians were then pulled under and swept into a large hedge, before managing to secure themselves as best as possible among the tree branches.
Constable Bancroft called the Police Emergency Communication Centre and relayed their situation. At this time, a large transporter truck with a digger and Landcruiser on the trailer approached. Constable Noiseux stopped the truck and requested use of the digger for a rescue.
Two civilians from the truck piloted the digger boom towards the trees where the three constables and the six civilians were. Constable Noiseux entered the digger bucket and Constables Bancroft and Maney helped people climb into the digger bucket, which moved them one at a time to the truck. The constables were the last to use the digger bucket to join the civilians.
With everyone on board, the truck headed towards the Chesterhope Bridge. The stop bank of the Ngaruroro River breached and a wall of water rushed towards them. The water level rose by two and a half metres over 15 minutes, causing those on the truck to have to climb onto its roof for safety and the roof of the Landcruiser on the transporter trailer. The constables contacted the Police Emergency Communication Centre again for rescue assistance. An Inflatable Rescue Boat (IRB) arrived and took the civilians to safety two at a time, until a puncture reduced capacity to one person at a time. The constables remained on the submerged truck roof until all others had been rescued, before being picked up in the IRB.
The New Zealand Bravery Medal:
NOISEUX, Detective Constable Patrick
New Zealand Police
Citation
On 14 February 2023 the severe category three Cyclone Gabrielle hit New Zealand and caused widespread devastation in the Eastern District, with a large-scale civil defence emergency response undertaken. Rivers were flooded, stop banks breached and flooding rose rapidly to envelop buildings and landslides swept away homes, while slips, debris and downed bridges prevented movement along much of the roading network.
Constable Patrick Noiseux (now Detective Constable), along with Constables Mark Bancroft and Kurtis Maney were deployed to Pakowhai Road outside Hastings, navigating floodwaters on foot directing people to evacuate. They came across six people who had jumped from a truck to find another route to safe ground and had been caught in a strong current, as the road had channelled the floodwater like a river. The six people managed to cling to a pole to avoid being swept away, but were stranded in chest-high water.
The constables moved to assist the stranded people, though Constable Bancroft and Constable Maney were then swept away by the current along with the six people, while Constable Noiseux managed to secure himself temporarily. Constable Bancroft was able to get his head above water among some trees and called to Constable Noiseux, who spotted him. Bancroft, Maney and the civilians were clinging to the trees. All three constables and the civilians were then pulled under and swept into a large hedge, before managing to secure themselves as best as possible among the tree branches.
Constable Bancroft called the Police Emergency Communication Centre and relayed their situation. At this time, a large transporter truck with a digger and Landcruiser on the trailer approached. Constable Noiseux stopped the truck and requested use of the digger for a rescue.
Two civilians from the truck piloted the digger boom towards the trees where the three constables and the six civilians were. Constable Noiseux entered the digger bucket and Constables Bancroft and Maney helped people climb into the digger bucket, which moved them one at a time to the truck. The constables were the last to use the digger bucket to join the civilians.
With everyone on board, the truck headed towards the Chesterhope Bridge. The stop bank of the Ngaruroro River breached and a wall of water rushed towards them. The water level rose by two and a half metres over 15 minutes, causing those on the truck to have to climb onto its roof for safety and the roof of the Landcruiser on the transporter trailer. The constables contacted the Police Emergency Communication Centre again for rescue assistance. An Inflatable Rescue Boat (IRB) arrived and took the civilians to safety two at a time, until a puncture reduced capacity to one person at a time. The constables remained on the submerged truck roof until all others had been rescued, before being picked up in the IRB.
The New Zealand Bravery Medal:
OFFICER A
New Zealand Police
Citation
On the evening of 13 February 2020, four Armed Offenders Squad (AOS) members, including Officer A, were on patrol in two Police vehicles when they were alerted to a vehicle in the Tauranga City area linked to an offender being sought for a recent double homicide. The AOS team located the vehicle, following it to attempt to stop it.
The sole occupant of the vehicle began shooting at the AOS team as he drove, hitting the windscreen of the lead patrol vehicle driven by team leader Officer B, with Officer C in the passenger seat. Officer A drove the second patrol car, with Officer D in the passenger seat. With traffic and pedestrians using the roads at the time, the AOS team determined the offender posed a significant risk to the public and needed to be apprehended. They decided to follow the vehicle until it reached an area where risk to the public would be minimised.
As they followed, the offender drove at a normal speed in his lane and aimed deliberate shots at the AOS team over several minutes, with rounds hitting and ricocheting off the lead patrol vehicle. The AOS team warned other Police personnel in the area that they were following the offender, to avoid other Police encountering the vehicle and becoming targets. At one point, the offender stopped in a residential area to open his door and take aimed shots from around 20 metres away at Officer C and Officer B in their vehicle. The officers allowed the offender to continue given the proximity of the public. Officer B kept his patrol car close to the offender’s vehicle while pursuing to minimise attention on civilian vehicles, while Officer A kept the second patrol car close behind to provide immediate support.
When the offender stopped again on southbound State Highway 2, the AOS team decided that the location was sufficiently isolated to attempt to apprehend the offender. Officer B stopped the lead patrol vehicle around 10 metres from the offender’s vehicle and Officer A stopped his patrol vehicle a further five metres behind.
The officers saw the offender moving in his vehicle and expected he would begin shooting again. Officer A had positioned himself to use his patrol car to immobilise the offender’s vehicle if required. From the passenger seat of the lead car, Officer C fired his rifle at the offender’s vehicle. Officer D exited the second patrol car and moved into the open, between his car and the offender’s, firing through the offender’s back windshield. Officer C and Officer D ceased firing and saw the offender slump in his seat and the offender’s vehicle begin rolling off the road onto the grass. At this time, Officer B had exited the lead vehicle to assist, while Officer C and Officer D ran alongside to take the offender into custody, though the offender had been killed during this engagement.
Officer A demonstrated bravery in pursuing a motivated offender, who continually took deliberate aimed shots at the AOS team over an extended encounter in proximity to the general public. Officer A made a key contribution to the AOS team stopping the offender, thereby removing the risk to the public and to other Police personnel.
The New Zealand Bravery Medal:
OFFICER B
New Zealand Police
Citation
On the evening of 13 February 2020, four Armed Offenders Squad (AOS) members, including Officer B, were on patrol in two Police vehicles when they were alerted to a vehicle in the Tauranga City area linked to an offender being sought for a recent double homicide. The AOS team located the vehicle, following it to attempt to stop it.
The sole occupant of the vehicle began shooting at the AOS team as he drove, hitting the windscreen of the lead patrol vehicle driven by team leader Officer B, with Officer C in the passenger seat. Officer A drove the second patrol car, with Officer D in the passenger seat. With traffic and pedestrians using the roads at the time, the AOS team determined the offender posed a significant risk to the public and needed to be apprehended. They decided to follow the vehicle until it reached an area where risk to the public would be minimised.
As they followed, the offender drove at a normal speed in his lane and aimed deliberate shots at the AOS team over several minutes, with rounds hitting and ricocheting off the lead patrol vehicle. The AOS team warned other Police personnel in the area that they were following the offender, to avoid other Police encountering the vehicle and becoming targets. At one point, the offender stopped in a residential area to open his door and take aimed shots from around 20 metres away at Officer C and Officer B in their vehicle. The officers allowed the offender to continue given the proximity of the public. Officer B kept his patrol car close to the offender’s vehicle while pursuing to minimise attention on civilian vehicles, while Officer A kept the second patrol car close behind to provide immediate support.
When the offender stopped again on southbound State Highway 2, the AOS team decided that the location was sufficiently isolated to attempt to apprehend the offender. Officer B stopped the lead patrol vehicle around 10 metres from the offender’s vehicle and Officer A stopped his patrol vehicle a further five metres behind.
The officers saw the offender moving in his vehicle and expected he would begin shooting again. Officer A had positioned himself to use his patrol car to immobilise the offender’s vehicle if required. From the passenger seat of the lead car, Officer C fired his rifle at the offender’s vehicle. Officer D exited the second patrol car and moved into the open, between his car and the offender’s, firing through the offender’s back windshield. Officer C and Officer D ceased firing and saw the offender slump in his seat and the offender’s vehicle begin rolling off the road onto the grass. At this time, Officer A had exited the lead vehicle to assist, while Officer C and Officer D ran alongside to take the offender into custody, though the offender had been killed during this engagement.
Officer B demonstrated bravery in pursuing a motivated offender, who continually took deliberate aimed shots at the AOS team over an extended encounter in proximity to the general public. Officer B made a key contribution to the AOS team stopping the offender, thereby removing the risk to the public and to other Police personnel.
The New Zealand Bravery Medal:
OFFICER C
New Zealand Police
Citation
On the evening of 13 February 2020, four Armed Offenders Squad (AOS) members, including Officer C, were on patrol in two Police vehicles when they were alerted to a vehicle in the Tauranga City area linked to an offender being sought for a recent double homicide. The AOS team located the vehicle, following it to attempt to stop it.
The sole occupant of the vehicle began shooting at the AOS team as he drove, hitting the windscreen of the lead patrol vehicle driven by team leader Officer B, with Officer C in the passenger seat. Officer A drove the second patrol car, with Officer D in the passenger seat. With traffic and pedestrians using the roads at the time, the AOS team determined the offender posed a significant risk to the public and needed to be apprehended. They decided to follow the vehicle until it reached an area where risk to the public would be minimised.
As they followed, the offender drove at a normal speed in his lane and aimed deliberate shots at the AOS team over several minutes, with rounds hitting and ricocheting off the lead patrol vehicle. The AOS team warned other Police personnel in the area that they were following the offender, to avoid other Police encountering the vehicle and becoming targets. At one point, the offender stopped in a residential area to open his door and take aimed shots from around 20 metres away at Officer C and Officer B in their vehicle. The officers allowed the offender to continue given the proximity of the public. Officer B kept his patrol car close to the offender’s vehicle while pursuing to minimise attention on civilian vehicles, while Officer A kept the second patrol car close behind to provide immediate support.
When the offender stopped again on southbound State Highway 2, the AOS team decided that the location was sufficiently isolated to attempt to apprehend the offender. Officer B stopped the lead patrol vehicle around 10 metres from the offender’s vehicle and Officer A stopped his patrol vehicle a further five metres behind.
The officers saw the offender moving in his vehicle and expected he would begin shooting again. Officer A had positioned himself to use his patrol car to immobilise the offender’s vehicle if required. From the passenger seat of the lead car, Officer C fired his rifle at the offender’s vehicle. Officer D exited the second patrol car and moved into the open, between his car and the offender’s, firing through the offender’s back windshield. Officer C and Officer D ceased firing and saw the offender slump in his seat and the offender’s vehicle begin rolling off the road onto the grass. At this time, Officer B had exited the lead vehicle to assist, while Officer C and Officer D ran alongside to take the offender into custody, though the offender had been killed during this engagement.
Officer C demonstrated bravery in pursuing a motivated offender, who continually took deliberate aimed shots at the AOS team over an extended encounter in proximity to the general public. Officer C made a key contribution to the AOS team stopping the offender, thereby removing the risk to the public and to other Police personnel.
The New Zealand Bravery Medal:
OFFICER D
New Zealand Police
Citation
On the evening of 13 February 2020, four Armed Offenders Squad (AOS) members, including Officer D, were on patrol in two Police vehicles when they were alerted to a vehicle in the Tauranga City area linked to an offender being sought for a recent double homicide. The AOS team located the vehicle, following it to attempt to stop it.
The sole occupant of the vehicle began shooting at the AOS team as he drove, hitting the windscreen of the lead patrol vehicle driven by team leader Officer B, with Officer C in the passenger seat. Officer A drove the second patrol car, with Officer D in the passenger seat. With traffic and pedestrians using the roads at the time, the AOS team determined the offender posed a significant risk to the public and needed to be apprehended. They decided to follow the vehicle until it reached an area where risk to the public would be minimised.
As they followed, the offender drove at a normal speed in his lane and aimed deliberate shots at the AOS team over several minutes, with rounds hitting and ricocheting off the lead patrol vehicle. The AOS team warned other Police personnel in the area that they were following the offender, to avoid other Police encountering the vehicle and becoming targets. At one point, the offender stopped in a residential area to open his door and take aimed shots from around 20 metres away at Officer C and Officer B in their vehicle. The officers allowed the offender to continue given the proximity of the public. Officer B kept his patrol car close to the offender’s vehicle while pursuing to minimise attention on civilian vehicles, while Officer A kept the second patrol car close behind to provide immediate support.
When the offender stopped again on southbound State Highway 2, the AOS team decided that the location was sufficiently isolated to attempt to apprehend the offender. Officer B stopped the lead patrol vehicle around 10 metres from the offender’s vehicle and Officer A stopped his patrol vehicle a further five metres behind.
The officers saw the offender moving in his vehicle and expected he would begin shooting again. Officer A had positioned himself to use his patrol car to immobilise the offender’s vehicle if required. From the passenger seat of the lead car, Officer C fired his rifle at the offender’s vehicle. Officer D exited the second patrol car and moved into the open, between his car and the offender’s, firing through the offender’s back windshield. Officer C and Officer D ceased firing and saw the offender slump in his seat and the offender’s vehicle begin rolling off the road onto the grass. At this time, Officer C had exited the lead vehicle to assist, while Officer C and Officer D ran alongside to take the offender into custody, though the offender had been killed during this engagement.
Officer D demonstrated bravery in pursuing a motivated offender, who continually took deliberate aimed shots at the AOS team over an extended encounter in proximity to the general public. Officer D made a key contribution to the AOS team stopping the offender, thereby removing the risk to the public and to other Police personnel.
The New Zealand Bravery Medal:
RAMSAY, Mr Ryan Ross
Citation
Mid-afternoon on 10 May 2021, a man with a short kitchen knife in each hand attacked a staff member at a supermarket in central Dunedin, causing multiple wounds as she tried to defend herself. Several shoppers and staff in the busy supermarket attempted to restrain the offender during his frenzied attack, which occurred in little over a minute, with four people in total sustaining stab wounds.
A supermarket employee Mr Ryan Ramsay was working at the time and heard screaming and someone yelling that a woman had been hurt. He made his way to the pharmacy aisle and witnessed a man being stabbed and the offender moving to stab another woman nearby shortly afterwards. The injured man asked Mr Ramsay to check on his wife, the woman who had been stabbed. At this time other staff and members of the public were trying to restrain the offender. An off-duty Police officer and another staff member, Ms Pam Thompson, threw themselves onto the offender to pin him to the ground. Mr Ramsay assisted by attempting to disarm the offender.
Mr Ramsay noticed the offender had a knife in each hand, and despite being pinned on his side, the offender was thrashing and still able to move his hands. Mr Ramsay was unable to remove the knives and was told by another shopper to assist with applying pressure to the injured victims’ wounds. Mr Ramsay took off his jersey and applied pressure to a man’s wound until uniformed Police arrived to arrest the restrained offender.
Mr Ramsay did not hesitate to attempt to disarm the struggling offender, demonstrating bravery in trying to prevent further harm.
The New Zealand Bravery Medal:
REITSMA, Mr Heike Pio Jan
Citation
Early afternoon on 21 July 2022, two teenage boys were riding their motorbikes across familiar farmland near Whanganui and attempted to cross a fast-moving river, which had begun flooding. One boy’s motorbike was pushed over by the fast-moving current, pinning him with his legs under the bike, before being slowly pulled downstream.
Mr Heike Reitsma, then 16-years-old, ran into the waist-deep river and attempted to pull the other boy out, but the weight of the bike and the current prevented the boy from being freed. The current was getting stronger, and it was difficult for the trapped boy to keep his head above the rising water. Mr Reitsma tried to pull the bike off his friend, before attempting unsuccessfully to pry the boy’s boots off to free his legs.
Mr Reitsma instructed his friend to turn over to create an eddy and a gap for him to breathe. Mr Reitsma then ran up a hill to find reception to contact emergency services. As reception kept cutting out, he kept repeating his location. Mr Reitsma made multiple trips back to the river, entering the water to try to lift the bike or pull the boy out, and running back up the hill to retry emergency services. By this time, the boy was submerged becoming hypothermic, exhausted, and unable to hold his head above water.
The now chest-deep water shifted the motorbike, freeing the boy’s legs and washing him further down the river. Mr Reitsma heard the boy yelling and spotted him downstream holding onto a bush by the riverbank. Mr Reitsma crossed the river via a fallen tree and pulled the boy out of the water. Mr Reitsma removed the boy’s clothing and gave him his own clothing – at this time the boy was losing consciousness. Mr Reitsma then ran around a kilometre to the main road to guide Police officers to the scene.
Mr Reitsma’s repeated efforts to enter the flooded river ensure his friend could breathe and attempt to free him was key to a successful rescue, with the boy being located and treated by emergency services and evacuated by helicopter.
The New Zealand Bravery Medal:
SHERMAN, Mr John Rodney
Citation
Mid-afternoon on 3 September 2021, a man, who had been under intense Police surveillance, entered a supermarket in New Lynn, Auckland and acquired a large kitchen knife, which he used to indiscriminately attack people across several aisles of the store. Within minutes, the offender caused significant injuries to five individuals and attempted to attack members of the public and staff who had barricaded themselves in a storeroom, before being fatally shot by Police officers.
Mr John Sherman was present in the supermarket at the time of the attack. He heard screams and saw injured people on the ground. Mr Sherman attempted to distract the offender by approaching him with a trolley, with the offender moving towards him in response. Mr Sherman remained amongst a loose group of other shoppers who continued to occupy the offender’s attention, using stanchions and trolleys to maintain distance and barriers. The shoppers retreated to either end of an aisle, with the offender in the middle, his attention split between the groups. At this time, two Police officers arrived to confront the offender, who was subsequently fatally shot.
The New Zealand Bravery Medal:
STEWART, Detective Constable Jaime Eliza
New Zealand Police
Citation
On 14 February 2023 the severe category three Cyclone Gabrielle hit New Zealand and caused widespread devastation in the Eastern District, with a large-scale civil defence emergency response undertaken. Rivers were flooded, stop banks breached and flooding rose rapidly to envelop buildings and landslides swept away homes, while slips, debris and downed bridges prevented movement along much of the roading network.
Detective Constable Jamie Stewart and another Police officer were deployed to rescue people in the Pakowhai area, outside Hastings. They learnt of a fellow Police officer who was trapped on the roof of a shed at her property along with her 4-year-old son and baby. The officers drove to the Pakowhai Road address, before having to continue through rising floodwaters on foot.
When they reached the property, the water was at chest height. They moved through the strong current to find the stranded officer and her children on the shed roof. The other officer lifted down the 4-year-old, passing him to Detective Constable Stewart. Once the mother and her baby were off the roof, the group travelled carefully back through the waters to their Police car.
Detective Constable Stewart and her fellow officer then focused on worsening conditions at Chesterhope Bridge. They spotted an older couple stranded around 200 metres away, trying to cross the floodwater. Detective Constable Stewart used the Police vehicle loudspeaker to instruct the couple to approach the stop bank, but they did not respond. Stewart then entered the water and made her way to the couple, manoeuvring them to a submerged fence line where the other officer met them and reached the woman. They established that the woman was exhausted and not a good swimmer and the man was unable to swim. The floodwater had now reached the top of the stop bank.
Detective Constable Stewart helped keep the man afloat and his head above water to cross to safety. They were often unable to touch the ground and, when the man went underwater, Stewart dived under and lifted the man up. Detective Constable Stewart and the other officer then wrapped their arms around the woman and carried her to safety. The area in which the officers undertook these rescues was later fully flooded, with houses submerged.
The New Zealand Bravery Medal:
THOMPSON, Ms Pamela Ruth (Pam)
Citation
Mid-afternoon on 10 May 2021, a man with a short kitchen knife in each hand attacked a staff member at a supermarket in central Dunedin, causing multiple wounds as she tried to defend herself. Several shoppers and staff in the busy supermarket attempted to restrain the offender during his frenzied attack, which occurred in little over a minute, with four people in total sustaining stab wounds.
A supermarket employee Ms Pam Thompson was working at the time and heard screaming. She made her way to the pharmacy aisle and saw her colleague Mr Dallas Wilson get stabbed while attempting to restrain the offender. Ms Thompson grabbed a plastic chair from the pharmacy waiting area. As she entered the aisle, the offender stabbed another man who had intervened. Ms Thompson threw the plastic chair at the offender, which was then picked up by an off-duty Police officer and used to push the offender to the ground.
Ms Thompson joined the off-duty Police officer in pinning the offender, kneeling on the offender’s back. The offender continued to struggle on the ground with knives in his hands. Ms Thompson grabbed the offender’s right hand to try to control the knife. The offender eventually let go of the knife allowing Ms Thompson to remove it, while another person was able to remove the second knife. The offender was restrained until uniformed Police arrived to arrest him.
Ms Thompson moved to assist her wounded colleague without hesitation, confronting the offender and making a key contribution to restraining and disarming him, demonstrating bravery.
The New Zealand Bravery Medal:
TOSCHI, Detective Jeremy Franco
New Zealand Police
Citation
Mid-afternoon on 10 May 2021, a man with a short kitchen knife in each hand attacked a staff member at a supermarket in central Dunedin, causing multiple wounds as she tried to defend herself. Several shoppers and staff in the busy supermarket attempted to restrain the offender during his frenzied attack, which occurred in little over a minute, with four people in total sustaining stab wounds.
Off-duty Police officer, Detective Constable Jeremy Toschi (now Detective), was in the store at the time. He heard screaming from an aisle and ran towards it. Detective Constable Toschi encountered the offender being restrained by a staff member and members of the public. As Detective Constable Toschi approached, the offender broke free and stabbed a woman who was involved in the struggle. The offender then grabbed a man who intervened, stabbing him several times.
Detective Constable Toschi grabbed items from the shelves and began throwing them at the offender to distract him, continuing to do so as he approached. He then grabbed a plastic chair and hit the offender with it, telling him to drop the knife. At this time, another off-duty Police officer, Constable Sophie Allison was attempting to restrain the offender by pinning him to the ground with the chair, assisted by another woman.
The man who had been stabbed was entangled in the offender’s legs and Detective Constable Toschi dragged the man away to prevent further injury. As the offender was being restrained on the ground by Constable Allison and another woman, Detective Constable Toschi pushed one of the plastic chair legs onto the offender’s chest to attempt to get him to release the knife. The offender continued to struggle violently with knife in hand as those restraining him tried to disarm him, until eventually releasing it. Uniformed Police then arrived to arrest the offender.
Detective Constable Toschi demonstrated bravery by entering the struggle with the offender without hesitation, helping to remove a wounded person and to restrain the offender to prevent further harm.
The New Zealand Bravery Medal:
WHITTAKER, Constable Cameron Joel
New Zealand Police
Citation
On 27 January 2023 heavy rainfall hit Auckland causing unprecedented flooding and destruction, with thousands of homes damaged by flooding and landslips. 245mm of rain fell within 24 hours and four people lost their lives during this period.
Constable Cameron Whittaker was working a nightshift with two other colleagues at the time. That evening they responded to a family trapped in their Warkworth home with the surrounding ground slipping away. The family comprised three adults, an 18-month child and a 6-week-old baby. Constable Whittaker and his colleagues could not get their vehicle any closer than 150 metres from the house, approaching the remaining distance on foot.
The landscape was precarious, and they traversed through multiple slips and waist-deep mud to reach the house. Constable Whittaker formed a human chain with his colleagues and passed the children to safety for a distance of around 200 metres over an unstable slip. The adults were then able to evacuate, reaching safety just before the slip suddenly shifted and moved further down the hill.
Later that night, Constable Whittaker responded to a person trapped in rising floodwaters in Kaipara Flats. The man had attempted to cross the water to land several times, but the current was too strong, and he kept being pushed back into a tree. Constable Whittaker waded around 100 metres through chest-deep water to locate the man, finding him separated by a 30 metre stretch of treacherous water.
Constable Whittaker sourced a lifejacket, some rope and a boogie board and entered the fast-flowing water, swimming the 30 metres to reach him. The rope became stuck in debris as he swam. By this point, the man had been stuck for two hours and was showing signs of hypothermia, at risk of falling unconscious. Constable Whittaker managed to get the lifejacket onto the man and encouraged him onto the boogie board. At this time a firefighter had swum over to Constable Whittaker with another rope. Working with the firefighter, Constable Whittaker was then able to remove the man to safety.