Robert Gibson and Karl Pennington
Constable Robert Gibson (left) and Constable Karl Pennington, received the New Zealand Bravery Decoration for their brave actions in dealing with a man firing a cut down AK47-style assault weapon at Auckland’s St Luke’s Shopping Centre car park on 5 June 2005. The offender twice fired upon the officers before hijacking a car and driving off, again firing at other pursuing police cars. Throughout this incident both officers, who were not armed, displayed great bravery in confronting an armed offender who was intent on killing them. Working as a team, they made sure members of the public were warned of potential danger and managed to prevent at least two attempts by the offender to hijack vehicles in the car park. They also kept Police controllers informed throughout the incident, which facilitated the subsequent arrest of the offender by the Armed Offenders Squad.