6 MAY 2011 NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE, No. 61

attempt to remove him from the scene. As the group proceeded down Chaucer Road, Detective Sergeant Clere and the Armed Offenders Squad member led the way walking side by side, protecting the two team members behind them. As they reached the driveway of No. 45, they were in the gunman’s line of fire. Detective Sergeant Clere provided cover as they entered the house, by standing in the driveway in full view of the gunman’s position. Having successfully recovered Senior Constable Diver from his hiding place at No. 45, the evacuation party began its return journey to the cordon point, with Detective Sergeant Clere providing cover by walking backwards behind the stretcher bearers.

Detective Sergeant Clere displayed both leadership and bravery in the way he managed the evacuation of Senior Constable Diver and led the evacuation team. His actions ensured that the wounded officer received medical treatment as quickly as possible, greatly increasing his chances of survival.

Nicolas Warren CORLEY

Constable, New Zealand Police

Citation

At 2.15 a.m. on 23 August 2008 Constable Nicolas Corley was working a night shift from the Mount Wellington Police Station with another officer, when a car containing two passengers was seen speeding along Rockfield Road in Oranga. The driver lost control of the vehicle and collided with a power pole, fences, and parked vehicles along Rockfield Road before coming to rest. The fuel tank ruptured and the car was engulfed in flames. The passenger was able to escape, but the driver was injured and trapped in the wreckage.

Constable Corley, who was transporting an arrested person to the Auckland Central Police Station, came across the crash site, by which time the wrecked vehicle was completely ablaze. Without hesitation, Constable Corley ran to the vehicle and, at great risk to himself, pulled the driver from it. In doing so, he sustained burns to his arms and the left side of his face.

The driver of the car sustained burns and serious neck and head injuries. The entire passenger compartment of the car was gutted by the fire and provided a graphic illustration of what the driver’s fate would have been had Constable Corley not intervened.

Constable Corley’s bravery and quick action in pulling the trapped driver from the wreckage at the risk of his own life saved the driver’s life.

Grant Wayne EXETER

Citation

At 3.00 p.m. on 30 July 2008 Mr Grant Exeter, aged 53 years, was working at the Makuri Quarry, when he was told that a car with one occupant had been swept off the road nearby and into the Pongaroa/Pahiatua Rivers, which were in flood. The car had rolled down the bank and appeared to be sinking.

Mr Exeter and his workmate immediately ran to the scene and tried to throw a long cargo strap to the driver, who was trapped in the car. These attempts failed. Seeing that the water was rising steadily and there was a possibility the driver might drown, Mr Exeter decided to enter the freezing water and take the strap to the trapped vehicle. Because of the strong current, Mr Exeter had to enter the river upstream and let himself be carried downstream towards the car. During the attempt his only link to safety was a light rope held by his workmate. If Mr Exeter were to miss his target, he would risk drowning or serious injury amongst the trees and other debris in the river. Fortunately, his attempt was successful. On reaching the car, he braced his feet against it, and leant into the current for support while he tied the strap around the waist of the driver. While doing this he also had to hold the driver’s face above the water, which was beginning to cover his mouth and nose.

Mr Exeter then clung to the car while his colleagues dragged its driver to the bank, and safety. The strap was then thrown back to Mr Exeter who, in turn, was pulled from the river.

Mr Exeter displayed bravery in entering the flooded river at risk to his own life to save the driver of the trapped car. Had he not been successful, both he and the driver could have drowned in the freezing waters.

Donald Garry FRASER

Citation

At approximately 9.45 a.m. on the morning of 7 May 2009 Mr Fraser was about to leave his home at 37 Guys Hill Road, Napier, when he heard the sound of about half a dozen gunshots coming from the vicinity of Chaucer Road South. He got into his car, a white Toyota Caldina, and drove to the northern intersection of Guys Hill Road and Chaucer Road South, where he met his neighbour, Christine Jackman, who was driving a red Honda. She told him there had been a shooting and she had seen a man crawling on the footpath about halfway down Chaucer Road South. Mr Fraser immediately drove down the hill to see if he could help, parking close to where the wounded Police Officer lay, partially sheltered from view by a hedge.

The wounded officer was Senior Constable Bruce Miller.

Mr Fraser spoke briefly to Senior Constable Miller and then dialled 111 on his cell phone, advised the Police that there was an ‘officer down’ and then left the line open while he tried to ascertain the extent of Senior Constable Miller’s injuries. About this time, he was advised by an occupant of No. 45 Chaucer Road South that a second wounded Police Officer, Senior Constable Grant Diver, had taken refuge at that address. Ms Jackman arrived at the scene shortly afterwards in her red Honda and the two of them began to check the adjacent letterboxes to find out their exact location. A further two or three shots were fired by the gunman, causing them to seek whatever cover was available. It was not known if the gunman’s fire was directed at them, but this was believed to be the case as there appeared to be no other people in the area at the time.

Mr Fraser remained with Senior Constable Miller, who asked if Mr Fraser could use his car to get him away from the scene. Without knowing how this request was to be accomplished, Mr Fraser returned to his car, crouched behind it and began to open the back door. He then saw three Police Officers moving down Chaucer Road towards his position and called to them to come and get their mate. When they arrived, Mr Fraser, accompanied by Ms Jackman, withdrew up Chaucer Road South, taking cover at No. 51 on instructions from the Police.

Mr Fraser acted bravely in going to the assistance of the wounded Police Officer at risk to his own life. The information he provided to Police from a position close to the gunman was influential in their subsequent handling of the incident and enabled the wounded officers to be evacuated from the scene and receive vital medical attention much sooner than might otherwise have been the case.

Peter Alexander HANNE

Citation

Late at night on 5 October 2008 a truck driver was driving north from Gisborne when his 23-tonne vehicle and trailer jack-knifed and ran off the edge of the road in the Waioeka Gorge, south of Opotiki. The vehicle ended up on its side, with the trailer unit hanging precariously at a 45-degree angle and the cab dangling underneath it a metre above the