Police share stories of heroism, trauma and swimming through a sea of apples as Cyclone Gabrielle swept through Hawke's Bay.
Video / Eastern District Police
Detective Steve Leonard hasn’t quite gone viral, but he’s unable to avoid his own face whenever he wanders into work.
The eastern district police released a compelling seven-minute video on its Facebook page, to mark the first anniversary of Cyclone Gabrielle.
The footage and interviews providea touching reminder that officers are real people too, with a number of them putting themselves in harm’s way to save others on February 14, 2023.
Arguably the most striking image is one Leonard took, of himself, an RSE worker, and a soldier on a Korokipo Road orchard.
The trio had been trying to locate a group of orchard workers up a driveway and evacuate them by Unimog.
From being focused on wading through water that varied from waist to shoulder high, Leonard suddenly took stock of his surroundings.
Put simply, the trio were standing in a river of apples.
“So [having discovered the workers safe] the stress levels were lowered and on the way back [to the Unimog] we realised this looks ridiculous, crazy and I thought I better get a shot of this,” Leonard said.
“I took a photo of the two guys and then I thought, for my kids, I better see if I can get a selfie without dropping the phone.”
Detective Steve Leonard in a cyclone sea of apples. Photo / Supplied
The photo has since been blown up and now sits prominently on a wall in reception at eastern district headquarters, much to Leonard’s occasional embarrassment.
He’s matter-of-fact about his experience of the cyclone.
“Horrendous, absolutely horrendous. But with some big highs and big lows,” he said.
“The highs being getting people out of there and seeing colleagues rescued, things like that. Those are, in the space of one moment, a high and a low.
“Just seeing the work done by the crew out there and being part of it was absolutely amazing, but so was the community. Everyone was pitching in everywhere.
“One thing I remember is driving along here in a Unimog and a guy in his little boat, with an outboard motor, driving next to us on the road.
“He’d been ferrying people around all day and his boat was wrecked, his propeller was absolutely chewed to pieces and he was still going.”
Detective Steve Leonard returns to the scene of his Cyclone Gabrielle selfie. Photo / Warren Buckland
As much as the spirit of Hawke’s Bay shone through on the day, it’s not an experience Leonard wants to relive.
“People ask me ‘why did you take the photos?’ I say, ‘they’re once in a lifetime photos’. We don’t ever want to see that again.”
Hamish Bidwell joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2022 and works out of the Hastings newsroom.
