First XV pair make big tackle off field
Two teenagers were waiting for a ride home after rugby practice at Bishop Viard College in Porirua when one spotted a suspiciouslooking man.
Oliver and Robert’s otherwise normal February evening soon took a dramatic turn when they helped police arrest the man allegedly fleeing after a stolen car crashed.
Yesterday they received an Area Commander’s Certificate of Appreciation at a full school assembly for their courage.
Oliver, 17, was waiting in front of the school for his mother to pick him up after first XV rugby practice and told the Herald he saw the man enter the school building.
“Then he just came back my way and I just had this feeling . . . I just didn’t feel safe so I kept an eye out and took out my earphones that I had on.”
Oliver’s mother was struck in traffic to make way for police cars trying to get to the scene. She arrived about the same time as police who, Oliver said, began scouring surrounding bush.
Oliver saw the man coming down the stairs leading to the school and told his mother: “That’s the guy”.
“We didn’t even know if the police were looking for a person — I just had a feeling it was him,” Oliver said.
He and Robert, 15, moved to cover the areas leading away from the school. The man started running towards Oliver, but then changed tack to head towards
Robert, the boys said.
Robert said he “grabbed” the man by his shoulder and chest, but let go when it appeared the suspect was reaching for something in one of his pockets.
A dog handler caught up with the boys, asking which direction the man had gone. They followed the handler in their rugby boots “just in case they needed help”, Robert said.
The group heard breaking glass as they moved behind the school and found the man had smashed a window to get into the main office.
The dog handler lifted the dog through the window and followed, while the boys stood by outside. They could see the handler had the suspect mostly cornered, but didn’t quite have enough hands while hanging on to the dog as well. Robert smashed the rest of the window so Oliver could get in, relatively unscathed, to help.
Oliver said he stood over the man to make sure he couldn’t get away before back-up officers arrived. “It wasn’t scary at the time, it was more just adrenalin.”
The pair had to stay focused, Robert said.
“Because if the police officer needed us to really do something, then you’d want to be able to do it. So you had to be shocked but, at the same time be relaxed and take everything in,” he said.
Robert has thought about joining the police and said it was good to see first-hand what they did.
A man is before the court facing several charges, with further charges pending.