Celebrated police dog handler Bruce Lamb dies while hunting

Celebrated police dog handler Bruce Lamb has died while on a hunting trip with friends.

Lamb, who had been in the police for 45 years, was in the Ashburton Lakes area when he died on Tuesday night.

Relieving Canterbury district commander Corrie Parnell said the news was devastating.

“Bruce passed away last night whilst on a hunting trip with friends. It is hard to put into words the depth of loss that individuals and teams will experience across all of NZ Police in response to this tragic news.

“Bruce has been part of our Canterbury police family for 45 years and was one of New Zealand Police’s longest-serving dog handlers.”

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Lamb, a father of three children – two of whom are police officers – was decorated after he was shot in the jaw and knocked to the ground in 2010 in what should have been a routine drug warrant in Phillipstown, Christchurch.

The pair entered the bedroom of Christopher Graeme Smith during a drug raid. Smith, a drug addict, shot Lamb and another policeman. Gage leapt forward and took a bullet himself. The shot was fatal but it allowed Lamb to escape with his life.

He died at the scene. The offender then turned his gun on Constable Mitch Alatalo, shooting him in the leg.

“Gage was probably the best patrol dog I’ve ever worked,” Lamb said of his dog.

Gage was later awarded a PDSA Gold Medal for bravery.

Smith was sentenced to a total 14 years in prison for attempted murder and other offences. He has since been declined parole 11 times, and will be seen by the Parole Board again next month.

Lamb was shot at three times in his career and was also first on the scene at one of New Zealand’s first active shooter events, where a man was shot in Cathedral Square in 1989.

Paying tribute following his death, Parnell said: “He was well known and well respected across the organisation and in the communities he served.

“Of course, this loss will be felt most deeply by his close-knit family, his friends and his dog section colleagues. Our love and prayers are with them.

“Bruce dedicated his life to policing, a passion he shared with his family. There are many things he will be remembered for – a real family man and a police officer through and through who got himself into more than his fair share of ‘hairy’ situations.

“We are in contact with Bruce’s family and are providing all the support we can as they come to terms with this tragic loss.Bruce was loved by many and this news will come as a shock, especially to those who worked closely with him.”

Lamb joined the police at 18 in 1978, going on to serve for 35 years in the dog section.

He had seven dogs, a number of which were AOS-trained.

In later years Lamb worked with detector dogs finding drugs. He and Luther, a black labrador, went on to find $168,000 in one haul in the lining of a car door.

Lamb’s son Michael continued in the family tradition, graduating from the Dog Training Centre at Trentham in 2021.

His other son Christopher is also in the force. In 2021 Christopher paid tribute to his father’s service, saying: “Growing up around dad and seeing someone that was respected by us kids, who was respected by the community and who just loved going to work, meant joining [the] police was never a hard choice for me.

“He loves his career and now I’m loving mine. When I was frontline and dad was at work it was always funny and quite cute that when I got assigned a job, and dad was not busy, DOGS 16 would perk up on the radio and say they could ‘float that way’.”