NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE, No. 61

6 MAY 2011

sight upstream, he was to release the students at five-minute intervals. This would allow time for the instructor to prepare the rope for each student. The instructor and Tony McClean agreed that those students least confident in the water would be paired with and attached to a more confident and better swimmer. All the other students were to go individually. Floyd Fernandes was paired with fellow student Anthony Mulder, and Tom Hsu was paired with Tony McClean. The instructor also decided to take one of the students, Ashley Smith, with her.

Each member of a pair was attached to the other by means of a looped sling and carabiner, or similar device, with the weaker person in front.

The instructor and Ashley Smith entered the torrent first. After being buffeted and turned around in the fast-flowing water, the instructor managed to catch hold of a rock and haul the pair of them to the safety of the bank only five metres from the top of the dam. As planned, Tony proceeded to release each student from the ledge at five-minute intervals. Anthony Mulder and Floyd Fernandes entered the stream some 30 minutes after the instructor and Ashley Smith had managed to reach the safety of the bank. When they arrived at the point opposite where the instructor stood they were unable to reach either the rope or Ashley’s outstretched hand and were swept over the dam and down some 20 feet to the stream below.

Both Anthony Mulder and Tony McClean were competent swimmers and would have stood a much better chance of survival if they had attempted the stream on their own, even though they had no experience of the water conditions in which they found themselves. They also knew that their friends would have little chance of survival in such conditions without assistance, but if they were tied together their own chances of survival would be significantly reduced. Nevertheless, they did not hesitate in agreeing to this part of the plan and, in acts of outstanding bravery, selflessly accompanied their friends into the torrent.

Anthony Mulder and Tony McClean were subsequently discovered some considerable distance below the dam, still attached to their friends.

Timothy Nigel SMITH

Detective Sergeant, New Zealand Police

Citation

On 7 May 2009 Detective Sergeant Timothy Smith was one of the first Police Officers to arrive at the scene of the fatal shooting of Senior Constable Len Snee, and the wounding of Mr Len Holmwood, and Senior Constables Grant Diver and Bruce Miller, by Mr Jan Molenaar in Chaucer Road South, Napier.

Though he was unarmed, Detective Sergeant Smith advanced into the immediate scene of the incident with several colleagues to a position across the road and slightly uphill from Mr Molenaar’s house, and where two civilians were sheltering behind their cars. From this position, Senior Constable Miller could be seen lying wounded in a driveway next to Mr Molenaar’s house and partially sheltered by a low brick wall. Having ascertained that one of the civilian cars had the keys in the ignition and was able to be driven, Detective Sergeant Smith ordered the two civilians to get clear of the area. Realising that it would not be possible to extract Senior Constable Miller without some means of protecting him, Detective Sergeant Smith decided to make a rescue attempt using the car. He climbed in, cleared the back seat of a guitar case and then heard a volley of shots, which made him duck for cover on the front seats. As he did so, he saw two Police Officers approach Senior Constable Miller on the other side of the road and cover his body with theirs to protect him from further injury. All three were afforded some protection by the low brick wall.

Assuming that the shots were aimed in his direction and fearing for the safety of his colleagues, especially those around Senior Constable Miller, Detective Sergeant Smith sat up, started the car, reversed, did a U-turn and then reversed again into the driveway where Senior Constable Miller lay. As he backed into the driveway, one of the officers with Senior Constable Miller opened the back door and he was quickly loaded into the back seat. Detective Sergeant Smith then drove away from the scene to a position of safety at the Police cordon and an ambulance was called. Until it arrived, Detective Sergeant Smith made Senior Constable Miller as comfortable as possible and kept him awake and talking until medical help arrived. It was during this time that Senior Constable Miller told Detective Sergeant Smith where the other wounded Police Officer, Senior Constable Diver, might be found. It was later noted that the car used in the evacuation had been hit twice by bullets fired by Jan Molenaar, one of which had entered through the middle of the roof and exited through the rear passenger’s quarterlight on the driver’s side.

Following the evacuation of Senior Constable Miller, Detective Sergeant Smith returned to the inner cordon. Shortly afterwards Detective Sergeant Clere of the Armed Offenders Squad arrived and made a plan to evacuate Senior Constable Diver from his hiding place at 45 Chaucer Road. This plan made provision for a ‘hot extraction’ using an ambulance should the group be fired upon at any stage. Detective Sergeant Smith volunteered to accompany Detective Sergeant Clere and a St John Paramedic on this mission. On arrival at No. 45, Detective Sergeant Smith assisted in stretchering the seriously wounded Senior Constable Diver from the scene, back up the hill, to a waiting ambulance. While medical staff prepared Senior Constable Diver for evacuation by helicopter, Detective Sergeant Smith remained with him, talking to him and providing comfort.

That morning Detective Sergeant Smith played a prominent role in the recovery of two seriously wounded Police Officers. Though unarmed, he displayed coolness, initiative and exceptional bravery in effecting the rescue of Senior Constable Miller under fire from the gunman. He put his life in danger again only a short time later when he joined the team that successfully rescued Senior Constable Diver. Without his outstanding contribution, the outcome for the wounded officers might have been different.

Paul Anthony SYMONDS

Senior Constable, New Zealand Police

Citation

Senior Constable Symonds was the senior member of a team of three Armed Offenders Squad (AOS) members who were the first AOS officers to arrive in the vicinity of Chaucer Road, Napier, on 7 May 2009. Symonds kept in contact with Police Communications throughout the time he attended the incident, helping to build a picture of the scene in Chaucer Road. He made a crucial decision to convey activities over the main Police radio channel, rather than the encrypted AOS channel. This meant that information was disseminated quickly to Police in Napier, enabling them to make swift tactical decisions. It also placed Symonds at risk as his communications could have been audible to the offender, Molenaar.

Senior Constable Symonds led Senior Constable Hurworth and Constable Burne down Chaucer Road from the intersection with Guys Hill Road. They were intent on finding and evacuating Senior Constable Snee, and Senior Constable Diver who they knew had been shot, as well as any civilians who might have been in the area. The offender, Jan Molenaar, could not be accurately located.