Hero cop Craig Campbell receives top bravery honour decades after acts during Cronulla riots
A police officer praised for his heroic behavior during the Cronulla riots has been recognized for his bravery almost two decades after shameful scenes shook Sydney.
Craig Campbell, a former sergeant with the NSW Police, was infamously photographed engaging in a baton-wielding confrontation as he tried to fend off a mob attacking two teenagers on a train during the 2005 riots.
At the time, he was filmed swinging his baton at angry rioters who filled Cronulla’s railway station.
Mr Campbell, now retired, told A Current Affair he was “just doing his job” to “protect innocent members of the public”.
“My job was to make sure these two young men were not seriously injured or killed,” he told the programme.
“I was worried that they (the teenagers) would at least get seriously injured.
“(The crowd) were throwing bottles at them, kicking them, punching them.”
Mr Campbell’s brave act led to him being recommended for one of the country’s highest bravery awards, the Commissioner’s Commendation for Bravery, by Mark Goodwin, then an assistant commissioner with the NSW Police.
But Mr. Campbell never received the award.
Mr Campbell was officially awarded the Commissioner’s Commendation for Bravery at a special ceremony held at the NSW Police Force administrative offices in Parramatta on Tuesday.
Mr Campbell’s elderly mother had planned to attend the service in person but had to watch the ceremony via Facetime from her hospital bed after a bad fall.
Current NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said the award had been a long time coming.
“One of the things I undertook when I first started as a commissioner was to look at this actual definition,” he told A Current Affair.
“So it’s great to be able to give this award to Craig.”
Asked by A Current Affair whether he thought he was a hero that day, Mr Campbell replied: “Define a hero.”
“I was a business man,” he said.
“(Wearing this medal) … means that I am recognized by a job for which I am willing to give my life.”
