Officers' bravery earns decoration

FIONA GOODALL/Eastern Courier

HONOURED: Karl Pennington will receive a New Zealand Bravery Decoration.

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When two police officers were caught in the line of fire they showed courage and conviction that helped protect the public.

The actions of constables Karl Pennington and Robert Gibson on June 5, 2005, earned them a New Zealand Bravery Decoration which will be presented in Wellington in September.

The pair were on patrol when they confronted an armed man in a St Lukes carpark.

While many shots were fired at the officers they warned the public about the danger, prevented at least two attempts to hijack vehicles in the carpark and paved the way for the man’s arrest by the armed offenders squad.

"It’s definitely an honour and I never expected it," Mr Pennington says of the decoration.

"It’s still sinking in and I’m trying to grasp the concept a little bit."

The Pakuranga resident says he feels lucky the inspectors thought it was good enough for a nomination.

Mr Pennington, a dog handler based in Ellerslie, says his thoughts were dominated by just how close the incident came to a different outcome.

"It bothers you completely. I was going over it in my head hundreds of times wondering if we could have done something differently.

"Despite all the ‘what ifs’ you’ve got to try and move on."

He says after the incident he and Mr Gibson, who is from the North Shore, had beer and pizza.

He says he now appreciates things more and that the incident made him re-evaluate his police career and wonder if he "should really be doing this".

But Mr Pennington is passionate about the job and likes the variety and helping people.

Since the incident he has had to deal with other dangerous situations but not to the same extent.

He says trouble tends to follow him around but in the police he is well-equipped to deal with it.

"I have a reputation for attracting trouble but I’ve never been seriously injured."

Charged with using a firearm against police the offender has served three years of an eight-year sentence.

"As far as I was concerned he was going to kill me," Mr Pennington says.

He had a history "as long as my arm" and Mr Pennington thinks there’s a high chance he’ll commit more offences when he is released.

He feels lucky the outcome wasn’t worse rather than unlucky for being the target.

The media attention the award has attracted is a chance for police to be seen in a positive light, he says.

Having a gun pointed at his face hasn’t deterred him from wanting to join the armed offenders squad.

He is working to improve the skills of his police dog. Together they have made 20 catches in five months.

Mr Pennington doesn’t believe he was being brave in the St Lukes incident. He puts his actions down to survival instinct.

- © Fairfax NZ News