NSW Premier, Opposition leader call for Cross of Valour for police officer who ended Bondi Massacre
Cesar Barraza, the police officer who ended the Bondi Beach massacre, should be awarded civilian equivalent of the Victoria Cross, NSW Premier Chris Minns said.
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns and his Opposition counterpart, Kellie Sloane, today said the police officer who killed Sajid Akram and fought Naveed Akram at Bondi Beach last December, ending the worst terrorist attack in Australian history, should receive the highest civilian bravery award, the Cross of Valour.
Sen. Const. Cesar Barraza, a detective on his last shift before taking annual leave, ran towards the shooters on December 14 without body armour or extra ammunition after hearing a colleague, Constable Scott Dyson, call out over the radio: “I think I’ve been shot.”
Taking shelter behind a tree, he killed Sajid Akram with his first shot, according to Bondi Terror, a book about the attack and aftermath by journalist Sharri Markson and Jewish leader Alex Ryvchin.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.He then engaged in a gunfight, using his newly issued Glock 17, with Naveed Akram, who shot at him and other police officers with a rifle. After about a minute of moving and ducking, Akram exposed himself in a small gap between the stairs and the bridge.
Sen. Const. Barraza “saw his chance and he took it”, Markson and Ryvchin write in Bondi Terror, which comes out next Tuesday. “Both shooters were finally down, seven minutes and 40 seconds after the first shot was fired.”
A dedicated pistol marksman, the detective fired 15 of his 18 bullets, according to the book. His Glock 17 was larger than the pistols carried by many officers, more accurate and had a larger magazine.
On Friday Mr Minns said that he supported the police officer being awarded the Cross of Valour, the civilian equivalent of the Victoria Cross.
A Seventh-day Adventist Christian, Sen. Const. Barraza was assigned to Bondi Beach from the cybercrime division only six weeks earlier. According to the book, he prayed he would be sent to a station where he was most needed and asked his pastor to pray for the same outcome.
Mr Minns said he had met the police officer and considered him “brave, humble and completely dedicated to protecting the community”.
“In my view, his actions saved many lives that day,” he told The Nightly. “There’s a process for the Cross of Valour, but I support Cesar receiving it. I think what he did deserves the highest recognition we can give him.
“He’s a humble guy who did an extraordinarily brave thing and now he’s back at work serving the people of NSW. We’re very lucky to have him.”
Ms Sloane, the State Liberal leader, said she supported awarding the detective the Cross of Valour too.
A local MP, she went to Bondi during the attack to help people shot. Fifteen people died and about 40 were injured, apart from the Akrams, who arrived at the famous beach with ISIS flags, two shotguns, a Beretta rifle and four home-made bombs.
The president of the NSW Police Association, Kevin Morton, said the detective “deserves to be acknowledged for his outstanding conduct” with other police officers and first responders who helped end the massacre and treat victims.
“Detective Senior Constable Barraza displayed quickness of judgement and exceptional bravery, running into danger and responding to the call to protect his colleagues with no thought for his own safety and preventing the loss of further lives in protecting the community,” he said.
Introduced in 1975, the Cross of Valour has been awarded five times. The last recipients were Tim Britten, a West Australian police officer, and Richard Joyes, a Tasmanian geologist, who pulled victims from the Sari nightclub in Indonesia in a terrorist attack known as the 2002 Bali bombings.
The medal is awarded by the Governor-General for “acts of the most conspicuous courage in circumstances of extreme peril” on the advice of the Australian Bravery Decorations Council.
Sen. Const. Barraza has been unable to give interviews because of the standard investigation that takes place whenever a police officer is involved in a fatal shooting, according to Markson, a News24 host. The police force declined to comment.
Naveed Akram has been charged with 78 offences, including committing a terrorist act. He has not been required to make a plea yet.
