  |
Medallion of Distinction to an extraordinary police officer
|
The Award of the 1st Gibraltar Medallion of Distinction took place yesterday evening at the City Hall. It went to PC Jared Mackintosh. The conferment was carried out by the mayor Julio Alcantara, who said:
“A very special welcome indeed to one extraordinary Police Officer, his family, and friends.
It is not events that make history but the manner in which individuals behave within those events. Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear; courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. In the words of Nelson Mandela : the brave man is not he who feels no fear but the man who conquers that fear. Today, we celebrate the actions of one such individual; Police Constable No. 152 Jared Mackintosh, GMD.
In July 2011, the Parliament of Gibraltar unanimously approved the following motion originally moved by the then Chief Minister, the Hon. Peter Caruana.
"This House recalls its resolution dated 18th July 2008 establishing the Gibraltar Medallion of Honour Award, and now resolves to hereby establish a further Civic Award for the following purposes and on the following terms:
The Gibraltar Medallion of Distinction. The Gibraltar Medallion of Distinction will be bestowed by Parliament, by Resolution, upon living or deceased persons who have attained distinction in any event, activity, aspect of life or subject matter and have thereby made an exceptional contribution to the community which Parliament considers worthy of special recognition.
The names of the recipients will be entered in a roll of recipients to be maintained by the Clerk to the Parliament in terms and manner to be specified by the Government by Notice in the Gazette, and which roll shall be published annually in December in the Gazette.
Persons upon whom the Gibraltar Medallion of Distinction has been bestowed shall be entitled to use the post nominal letters "GMD".
On the 31st May 2011, the focus of everyone in Gibraltar, and beyond, was on the extraordinary events taking place at the North Mole. Plumes of smoke and flames were visible from most points in town; a heavy noxious smell engulfed parts of our City; a large cruise ship caught nearby quickly slipped her moorings and fled into the Bay; our very environment seemed under threat. In the middle of all this, our emergency services had quickly deployed and were in action; City and Defence firefighters, ambulance and medics, policemen and civilians, tug boats and lighters; we all remember that extraordinary day. Our emergency services displayed immense courage and professionalism in the long hours the incident was live and the danger clear. We salute them and thank them in the name of our community.
What we celebrate today, we celebrate also on behalf of all those whose bravery, courage, and contributions are no less worthy of mention and recognition. PC Jared Mackintosh is an outstanding representative of remarkable Gibraltarians.
Even as the alarm went out and before the emergency services sped into action, a young man, less than a year in the RGP, saw the incident and realized that two people were in grave danger atop a fuel tank. Without thought for his own safety, selflessly, he launched himself to their rescue. It takes a special kind of courage to climb up very long steps into a veritable inferno, threatening to explode at any moment, to save the lives of fellow human beings. The Good Book says: greater love has no man ……. Jared’s action gave a very seriously injured worker a chance to live; a chance to fight for his life that he regrettably lost after months of struggle. In seriously putting himself at risk to save another, PC Jared Mackintosh, not only upheld the highest traditions of his Force, but made himself a very worthy first recipient of the Gibraltar Medallion of Distinction. A modest young man, he does not think himself a hero, but, sorry Jared, we all disagree!
In August, 2011, the following Motion, moved by the Hon. Fabian Picardo, was unanimously carried by the Parliament of Gibraltar:
Parliament :
Notes the actions of PC Jared Mackintosh on the 31st May 2011 when he attended the scene of a fire at the North Mole;
Acknowledges that PC Mackintosh put himself at great personal risk;
Notes that he removed to safety one of the workers injured in that accident (now sadly deceased);
Acknowledges that PC Mackintosh put his own life at rsik in protecting others;
Records and acknowledges the bravery of PC Mackintosh at the scene of the fire;
And this House therefore resolves that the Gibraltar Medallion of Distinction be bestowed on PC Mackintosh.
2012-02-24
|
|
|
|
