Cyclone Gabrielle bravery: Hawke’s Bay police officer commended after rescuing family

Sergeant Heath Courtenay Jones (left) with Governor-General at the time, Sir Anand Satyanand, after receiving the New Zealand Bravery Decoration on June 29, 2011. Photo / Government House, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

By RNZ

A police officer who rescued a mother and two children stranded on a roof during Cyclone Gabrielle has been commended for bravery.

After that feat, Detective Sergeant Heath Jones went on to cross a barbed wire fence submerged in floodwater to rescue an elderly couple.

He is one of eight people awarded the New Zealand Bravery Medal today.

Jones told RNZ’s Saturday Morning programme he was thankful and honoured to be recognised.

That day, while travelling to work, he only knew of the storm causing minor disruption – a few trees down, a few puddles, nothing too alarming.

Then the situation quickly became a concern.

“You get to work, and then you start hearing about cell phone coverage dropping, and river levels rising,” Jones said.

Five police officers received awards for saving people during Cyclone Gabrielle in October 2023. Pictured are recipients Detective Sergeant Heath Jones (left), Constable Patrick Noiseux, Constable Kurtis Maney, Detective Constable Jaime Stewart and Constable Mark Bancroft. Photo / RNZ / Bill Hickman

He and his colleague Detective Constable Jaime Stewart – who was last year’s Bravery Medal recipient – were deployed to the Pakowhai area near Hastings.

“We get to one particular bridge, and water’s very, very high, and then a call comes out that a colleague is in strife.”

The colleague was a woman stranded on her house roof with her 4-year-old and her baby.

To get to them, Jones and Stewart had to cross waist-deep, debris-filled, “fast-moving” water.

It was the first of two rescues that day.

“We passed two horses that we thought we’d probably come back and try and get them out, but the situation changed, and we were diverted to another situation.”

He noticed two elderly people who were trapped in chest-high water after walking a short distance from their vehicle, which was almost fully submerged.

They couldn’t swim and were exhausted where they stood, Jones said.

Jones entered the water to swim out to the couple, navigating a submerged barbed-wire fenceline to reach them.

“Through both rescues, the main concern was, if we lose footing, we are gone,” he said.

As well as emergency services, he credits the community for wanting to get out and help others during that time.

“So it’s not just about being a police officer,” he said, “but, [if] someone’s in trouble, I suppose that’s one reason why you do join the police, is so that you can help others.”

Five of eight people who received a Bravery Medal were police officers. A further two are recipients of the New Zealand Bravery Decoration.

In 2011, Jones was awarded the New Zealand Bravery Decoration after being one of the first officers to arrive at the scene of the 2009 Napier siege, where Senior Constable Len Snee was fatally shot. Three others were wounded.

– RNZ