Security officer gets rare award

When court security officer Kevin Palalagi went to work on a March morning, he didn't know he'd be standing with a national award for his duties a few months later.

Kevin stopped an attempted escapee running from Tauranga District Court. This week he was awarded a rare Director's award for his act.


Kevin Palalagi is only the second person to recieve the Director's award since 1999. It was here in the foyer where he stopped the attempted escapee.

The escapee was captured earlier that March morning and was bought in to the Court house while police were checking addresses.

He saw an opportunity to make a run from the court when the arresting officer briefly turned his attention from the defendant to speak to the nearby sergeant. He jumped from the dock and made a run for the door.

'I was in the foyer and a defendant had jumped the dock”, says Kevin.

'I knew what was happening straight away but I was a little bit off balance so I grabbed his t-shirt, which ripped, but that was enough.

'[We] had a little bit of a scuffle, [I] put him to the ground and then the police came and took him back to the court”.

Because of his actions, judicial security team leader and security officer Turangi Tata nominated Kevin for a Director's award.

'I put the nomination through to our local manager who endorsed it, which then went through to our regional manager and then on to the national manager.”

Turangi was off work for six months on ACC and wasn't there they day Kevin stopped the attempted escape.

The award Kevin received is also recognition for acting as team leader while team leader Turangi Tata was away. The award has only been handed to one other person since the Court Security Act was written in 1999.

'Kevin was the person that took care of everything while I was off work. He did everything, plus his own job and he did it well,” says Turangi.

Kevin was presented with the award on Monday in front of more 80 people including colleagues, court staff and around 20 family members who came down from Auckland – which was very much to Kevin's surprise.

'I didn't have a clue, everyone was talking in secret code across the radio. I went in one of the lifts with a few colleagues and got out and it was really busy, full of people, then I saw Darren Nicholas from the National Office.

Kevin's wife Sasha says the family are all proud of what he's done.

'I'm super proud, of course, he's my husband!” says Sasha.

'He was shell shocked and looked like a stunned mullet for ages.”
Kevin's nieces and nephews performed a haka and was presented with a Niuen spear that was from his grandfather's funeral who had passed away a week before.

Kevin, father of three, thanked his wife, Sasha in his acceptance speech. 'She does a lot for me and for us so that I'm able to come to work. Her job is a lot harder than mine.”

Kevin also thanked the team Turangai Tata, Carla Teiwimate, Daniel Dredge, Paul Waalwijk and Paul Devitt and his family.

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1 comment

Nice one

Posted on 28-05-2016 15:31 | By Starling

Good to see a person acknowledge when they have done a good job. Congratulations.


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