Civilians and police officers honoured for life-saving courage with NZ Bravery Awards

Police officers who ran into floodwaters, burning buildings and fast-flowing rivers, alongside civilians who intervened in violent attacks, have been recognised at the 2025 New Zealand Bravery Awards for acts of extraordinary courage that saved lives.

Five serving police staff were awarded the New Zealand Bravery Medal (NZBM), while civilians were also honoured among the 10 recipients overall. Police Commissioner Richard Chambers said the awards highlighted the selflessness shown by officers and members of the public who put their own lives at risk to protect others.

“These officers did not hesitate before acting in dangerous situations,” Chambers said, noting the toll such events can take on those involved and acknowledging others who assisted during the incidents.

Among the police recipients were Sergeant Richard Bracey and Constable Friederike “Fritzi” Faber, who responded to a family harm incident in Clover Park, Auckland, in July 2024. While inside a garage, a man doused the floor with petrol and set it alight, trapping himself and the officers.

Flames reached waist height and set Sergeant Bracey’s boots on fire. Despite the risk of explosion, Bracey removed a burning petrol canister while Faber fetched blankets and water to suppress the fire. Both were treated for smoke inhalation after saving the man and extinguishing the blaze.

Sergeant Harshad “Harry” Ghodke was honoured for an off-duty rescue attempt in January 2023 after a young boy was swept into the Rees River near Lake Wakatipu. Entering the fast-moving water, Ghodke calmed the panicked child and helped him stay afloat until another rescuer could reach him. Tragically, another man who also attempted to help drowned.

Detective Sergeant Heath Jones received his second national bravery honour for repeated rescues during Cyclone Gabrielle in February 2023. Near Hastings, he entered rising floodwaters to rescue a stranded police officer and her two young children, then later swam to an elderly couple trapped by floodwaters, helping carry them to safety. The area was later completely submerged.

Constable Alexander Kerr was recognised for a pre-dawn rescue in the Waikato River in January 2025. After locating a woman being dragged under by the current, Kerr entered the river multiple times in darkness, ultimately helping keep both the woman and another rescuer afloat before bringing them safely to shore.

The awards also honoured civilians, including Junior Fa’amalosi Isaako, who intervened in a brutal stabbing in Flaxmere, Hastings. Isaako restrained and disarmed the attacker, applied emergency first aid and remained with the victim until police and paramedics arrived. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said Isaako’s actions “saved the victim’s life”.

Luxon said all recipients exemplified the best of New Zealand. “In every single case, their actions prevented further harm — and in many, lives were saved only because they stepped in.”