Two New Zealand police officers have been presented with bravery awards after they managed to arrest a man who was accused of killing 51 people at two mosques.
The officers dragged the alleged suspect, perpetrator Brenton Tarrant out of the car and arrested him, following the mass shooting in Christchurch during March 2019.
The policemen had been chasing the gunman after the shootings at two mosques, located in the city of the country’s South Island.
The police officers have known each other for many years and have previously played rugby together.
In a statement, they said: “We had total trust in each other’s abilities and total faith that the other would do their job and continue to go forward regardless of what we encountered.”
“We were doing our job and were part of a huge and focused operation which resulted in the arrest of the alleged gunman.”
They also stated that their families were proud of their courage.
“To those families who were torn apart by this event, through death or injury, our hearts go out to you all”, they said.
“As officers, our job is to keep New Zealanders safe, so when we can’t do that; it cuts deep.”
The two officers received their awards from Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern during the New Zealand Police Association’s annual conference in Wellington.
