Top cop hanging up the badge
After 20 years on the beat, Inspector Mark Rowbottom is retiring from the job he dreamed of as a kid.
Rowbottom has been policing with Counties Manukau South for a number of years and rejoined the area in 2013. He was area commander from August until April this year.
He first joined the police in 1997 and was stationed in Thames. He ‘‘could have stayed’’ there as he enjoyed the lifestyle of the small town, he said.
But his senior sergeant at the time encouraged him to put together a ‘‘five-year plan’’ and dream big. ’’He basically said, ‘you’re wasted here’,’’ Rowbottom said.
From there he moved to South Auckland to join the Criminal Investigation Branch and was based in Otahuhu. He also spent time in the Auckland Drug Squad.
‘‘I’ve always wanted to be a cop ever since I could remember. I love this job … it’s given me so much around leadership, around people skills, and around being able to make quick decisions in high pressure situations.’’
However, the role meant there were sacrifices. ’’For me that was my young kids.’’
He is moving his family to Blenheim where he is looking for- ward to no traffic lights and spending more time with his family. He will start work in lawn mowing.
There have been plenty of work stories to tell over the years, including one when he was a young cop in Thames.
Patrolling one night, he and his partner responded to a home invasion which resulted in a pursuit. They finally caught a young man who had taken part in a vicious attack, along with his mother, on a local obstetrician.
‘‘The guy, the victim, had delivered the offender 21 years ago and had saved the mother’s life in doing so … the mother had grown infatuated with the doctor.’’
He also recalls the first time he took a ‘‘king hit’’ to the head in Pukekohe by a patched gang member.
‘‘The scariest thing was when we searched this guy he had a sharpened piece of metal on him, it could have turned a lot nasty.’’
Rowbottom says he will miss the job but Papakura is in good hands.
‘‘Something I really love about this community is that they’ll band together, front the issues and come up with solutions.’’