Everybody has at some time wondered what they would do in the instant they might need to put their life in danger to save another. Lenny Holmwood no longer has to wonder.
On a shocking day in May when three Napier policemen went to the house of Jan Molenaar and left under fire, Holmwood was the reason two of them survived.
Molenaar was a mate; Holmwood had bought marijuana from him at times. On the fateful morning, he says, he just called to visit.
The police were there with a search warrant and Molenaar turned murderous.
The wounded policemen were still in the street. Molenaar meant to finish them off. Holmwood seized the rifle and pushed it away, grappling with the bigger man, pleading with him. He distracted the gunman for perhaps 20 precious seconds, long enough for two of the officers to reach safety.
