‘A TRUE HERO’
A FRIEND AND COLLEAGUE REMEMBERS THE BRAVE OFFICER
Tamworth may be beloved as Australia’s country music capital, but one Friday morning 10 years ago, the NSW country town had its heart broken when one of its most-loved police officers was gunned down in cold blood.
On March 2, 2012, Senior Constable David Rixon, 40, was killed in a brutal attack on a quiet street. Some say the town lost one of its finest and most courageous residents.
This week marks the 10th anniversary of the death of Senior Constable Rixon, who was a dedicated husband to wife Fiona and a father of six.
His former colleague and friend, Constable Anthony Simshauser, believes it’s important to never forget what happened to David that day, as well as his
22 years of service to the local community.
“David was a man who loved his job, loved his community, loved his work colleagues and loved his family very much,” Constable Simshauser explains.
“He was a police officer who really believed in doing his best to keep the community safe. It didn’t matter where you went, you never heard a bad word about him. I was proud to be his colleague.”
Just before 8am on that fateful day, Senior Constable Rixon was on patrol when he pulled over local man Michael Allan Jacobs for a random breath test. At the time, Jacobs was disqualified from holding a driver’s licence and was also affected by methylamphetamine – over three times the top end of the therapeutic range.
As Senior Constable Rixon approached Jacobs’ vehicle, the officer said to Jacobs he was going to conduct a breath test.
As he passed over the breathalyser, Jacobs reached for a loaded revolver and fired directly at the police officer, with the bullet passing directly through his heart and lung.
Despite being mortally wounded, Senior Constable Rixon reached for his own revolver and fired off four shots, hitting Jacobs in the leg, abdomen and shoulder. He also managed to handcuff Jacobs before collapsing unconscious onto the ground.
An ambulance was quickly on the scene and Senior Constable Rixon was rushed to Tamworth Hospital, but was declared dead on arrival.
Six days later on March 8, Tamworth came to a standstill as hundreds attended Senior Constable Rixon’s funeral at St Paul’s Church, to farewell the police officer who paid the ultimate price for doing his job.
During his career, he received the NSW Police Medal, the National Medal and the first and second clasps to the NSW Police Medal.
“It’s so important the