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Sergeant Wally Kopae, and his colleague.
Invercargill’s Sergeant Wally Kopae stands as slightly embarrassed testament to what a man can do with the right dog and the right quiet word.
Kopae has seen a great deal of action in his 36 years as a Southland police officer, but the reasons he’s joined the NZ Order of Merit have just as much to do with his work to help quietly defuse moments of high drama than to dramatically resolve them.
A police dog handler who trains counterparts at national and international level, he has served three decades in the Armed Offenders’ Squad – reaching back as far as the Aramoana massacre – training other handlers in that work and also specialist areas of Search and Rescue.
He has worked overseas helping the Solomon Islands police service and was one of only two NZ police staff deployed in Afghanistan in the first rotation of Operation Highland, mentoring Afghan police trainers in the post-war environment.
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After which, he said, he was able to return home re-invigorated by the awareness of how for all that people can be beset by their problems, this remains such a lucky country compared to so many.
Lately he has been developing dog patrol capability in Fiji and this weekend he finds himself trying not to feel mortified by his King’s Birthday honour.
“To be singled out . . .well . . . there are many people in our organisation who are just as deserving or probably more deserving – I could name them off the top of my head – but I’m very appreciative of this award.’’
His citation notes his work training others not only in the skills of dog-handling, but also implementing a te ao Māori perspective, building relationships and connecting with whanaungatanga and use of te reo Māori to de-escalate situations.
“It’s really simple stuff, nothing weird and wonderful about it,’’ he said.
A few phrases in te reo – properly pronounced doesn’t hurt – can be just enough of an initial connection for two people to start talking to each other rather than stampeding to the cliff-face of what Kopae calls the “Do what I say. Do it now. Or get locked up,’’ approach.
As for his canine companions, Kopae will be forever grateful to have made it into the always keenly contested ranks of dog handlers. Receiving his first dog, Renko, remains one of his fondest work memories, as does seeing the development and success of his handlers throughout their own careers.
When he’s off work, his passion for cycling has led to being involved in the management of Southland road races and supporting the Westpac Chopper Appeal ride between Queenstown and Invercargill.
But as other police are quick to point out, nearly all of Kopae’s career has been on-call.
Of Kopae, Southern District Commander Paul Basham said: “Wally goes all-in. He brings an energy and a powerful commitment, which is ultimately about providing the best possible service to his communities.”
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