More than 100 Tasmania Police personnel from the Northern and Western Districts honoured
When a young constable jumped in the water to save several drowning children, he says he was filled with adrenaline. He was one of 110 police officers honoured with awards and medals.
Tasmania
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Constable Benjamin Strong and two of his police colleagues had no idea what they were getting into when they jumped into the water at Cooee Beach in March to save a bunch of swimmers who were drowning.
“I’m quite proud of everyone who attended the beach that day,” Constable Strong said.
“I mean, the three people who swam – myself, Constable Jamie Duggan and Sergeant Jason Dicker – have been recognised.
“But I think it’d be nice to appreciate everyone else who was on the beach that day, a lot of ambulance and police members – but certainly proud of my actions.
“I feel like we probably couldn’t have got a better result than we did.”
Constable Strong and his two colleagues received a Commissioner’s Commendation certificate for their selfless actions at the Western District Tasmanian Police Medals and Awards ceremony.
That ceremony occurred back-to-back with the handing out of the Northern District awards.
Across both ceremonies, 110 police personnel were honoured for their hard work and dedication to the force.
The incident that Constable Strong and his colleagues were honoured for did result in a man drowning, but several children were saved from the waters.
The constable said he got a call on the radio to attend the scene where he and his colleagues went out to save the children.
“There was a fair bit of adrenaline,” Constable Strong said.
“Our generalised training obviously helped us think about the situation logically, but we’re not really trained to swim after people – it’s not really a part of our job.
“But we didn’t really think about any of that at the time. It was more about trying to ensure the safety of everyone who was in the water.
“We certainly had a big debrief that day back at the station with everyone involved, and there’s been a few check-ins because, obviously, it was quite a traumatic event.
“But I think I’ve reflected positively on our actions as emergency services despite it being a bit of a negative outcome.”
Senior Sergeant Jason Jones was honoured at the Northern District ceremony after receiving a National Medal – 2nd Clasp for 35 years of service.
He said he was still as passionate about the job now as he was when he first joined the force as a 19-year-old.
“Every day is different. You don’t know what you’re going to do.” Sergeant Jones said.
“Every day is an adventure.”
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