Man of steel and sensibility

Inspector Gary Davey, a father himself, had plenty of emotion invested in the Aisling Symes case - but his professional demeanour has kept his responses level-headed. Photo / Dean Purcell

It was one of the most unenviable, gut-wrenching of jobs: telling the nation the body of 2-year-old Auckland girl Aisling Symes had been found.

Her family was already anguished; her local community had tightened; even people from the farthest corners of her country had struggled to make sense of her disappearance.

Police Commissioner Howard Broad was at dinner that night with Lord Michael Ashcroft - in the country to launch Crimestoppers - and left the table frequently throughout the evening to receive updates on the recovery of the body.

But, when it came time to deliver to everyone the devastating news, it was left to just one man. Waitakere district police commander Inspector Gary Davey had been charged with finding Aisling. The case needed a strong leader, and he was that man.

Crisply dressed in his blue uniform despite the exhausting week that had gone before, Davey presented a calm figure on that grim West Auckland night. His expressions spoke louder than words.

The 41-year-old stumbled slightly over his sentences. He paused. He paused again. A slow and shaky swallow was audible. Tears welled in his eyes.

In less than two minutes the media conference was over. Davey had made it through the statement, maintaining his professional edge. But it had revealed enough for New Zealand to get a picture of what the case meant to him.

So how did New Zealand respond?

Most responses lauded him for his obvious commitment to the search for Aisling. Some questioned why the little girl's body had not been found earlier.

One - blogger Cactus Kate - posted a picture of Davey from the press conference. "What a hottie!" she captioned it.

ULTIMATELY, DAVEY did not get the result he was seeking, and he has faced tough questions about the search.

But while the inquiry still continues and answers are still being sought, the Symes family were quick to praise police and searchers.

So too retired Detective Inspector Graham Bell. The veteran of 33 years as a detective says he would not have handled the case any differently himself.

"He deserves the praise he is receiving," says Bell.

The public haven't held back either. On the nzherald.co.nz website, a number of people described the effort as "outstanding".

One poster, Joe from West Harbour, went as far to say that if his child were missing, he would want Gary Davey leading the search.

According to New Zealand Police Association president Greg O'Connor, Davey's show of emotion illustrates the many sides to the country's police force.

O'Connor hopes this can help break down some misconceptions people may have about police.

"We are all human and all different, yet the tendency is sometimes to treat police as a generic group.

"But that couldn't be more wrong. There would have been a whole range of different emotions in that team."

Yet O'Connor says it wasn't Davey's emotions that people admired.

"What people were impressed with in Gary was his absolute professionalism. He got on with the job in the best way."

As for all of this attention, the consensus among those who know Davey seems to be that he won't like it at all. With the odd exception, police officers are not too fond of the media spotlight.

Most officers view the work they do as just that - "part of the job".

They can be humble about even the greatest of achievements. A lot of officers would probably rather avoid interviews where possible, but at times the need for public assistance requires those channels of communication.

O'Connor explains that Davey wouldn't have liked the plaudits: "Too much attention is embarrassing. That's the Kiwi way. We are an understated people."

DAVEY WAS born in Massey and schooled there before training to become a mechanic.

By age 20 he was qualified and worked at Triangle Motors in Massey, but he soon joined the police in search of greater challenges.

"It intrigued me how detectives managed to solve crimes where there were no witnesses and few initial clues," he said, on a government Career Services website.

"It seemed amazing that they could piece together the evidence until they knew what had happened, and then work to get a conviction in court. I really looked up to them and aspired to be one."

He said he enjoyed the comradeship and teamwork in the police, the bonds developed with colleagues.

"I also enjoy the fact that police work makes a difference to the lives of the victims of crime, and I think that all police feel this in some way. It's these sorts of things that make working in this job special and more than just another nine-to-five job."

It's fair to say that he would not have enjoyed the past two weeks so much - but he gave his all.

His father says his Davey "puts his heart and soul into it all".

"He doesn't give 110 per cent, he gives 150 per cent. Every time," says Neil Davey. "We have three boys and they don't give in to anything."

According to his dad, Davey is also a handy footballer, a keen cyclist and a reliable handyman.

A father of two, Davey managed to study part-time for 20 years - around work and family commitments - to finish a business and a law degree.

"He still gave them far more time than I ever gave my family. We are very, very proud of him," says his dad.

Davey has been admitted to the bar, but has chosen to remain committed to the force.

"He could be a prosecutor or lawyer or anything," says Neil Davey. "But he just loves the police so much that he has stuck with that."

And really, Davey hasn't just "stuck with" the police - he's been a man on the rise.

He worked on a number of major cases before this one, including the alleged murder of Marie Jamieson.

He was involved with the police team that secured the return of kidnapped 5-year-old Cina Ma last year, and which arrested a man who had demanded a $500,000 ransom.

Davey, too, was a concerned parent, as he told the public then.

"This is a parent's worst nightmare, the fact it happened to a child, and there is an element of fear out there," he said.

Cina Ma (known as Xin Xin) was found after four days, bound and gagged, barricaded in a walk-in wardrobe in a house only a few blocks from her home.

Like Aisling, she had disappeared while playing with her sister outside her home. Unlike Aisling, she was returned to her parents, traumatised but alive.

Detective Inspector Steve Wood worked closely with Davey in Waitemata - including on the Xin Xin case and the arrest of a suspect in the Jamieson case.

"At times police can come across as not having those emotions, but obviously he [Gary] does," Wood says.

"He's the sort of guy you can go to to talk about anything and he is a great leader. He's got one of those nice, calm approaches. You need guys like Gary around on those sorts of cases."

Given his background and that he now has children of his own, it's no surprise the Aisling Symes case should have carried so much personal importance to Davey.

Waitakere mayor Bob Harvey, who liaised with Davey through the investigation, says he and Davey found the case tough for similar reasons.

"Both of us are fathers and we both found ourselves hitting a wall of emotion.

"No matter how professional you are, dealing with the issue of children when you have your own children is just gut-wrenching.

"I could see that he had that deep emotion and I can't tell you how proud I am of this man for the job he did."

Harvey adds: "Through and through he's a Westie and he understands the West - so there was no better person for the job."

Davey's fleeting show of emotion added a personal touch that has struck a positive chord with many New Zealanders. It demystified him, and it demystified the police.

Public displays of emotion are something you rarely see from police. Policing, and particularly detective work, are not for the faint-hearted.

So Davey's reaction raises the question: how do police deal with trauma?

Graham Bell has written a book on the cumulative impact of handling traumatic inquiries, and empathised with Davey as he struggled to deliver the news of a body being found.

"I think many of us have felt like that on major inquiries. You just can't help it," Bell says.

O'Connor says there is now compulsory trauma counselling for all those involved with cases like this. "People do realise that there are issues they need to be aware of themselves," he explains.

As for being described as a "hottie" at one of the most difficult moments in his career - that is something Davey will undoubtedly be embarrassed about.

The Aisling Symes case is likely to keep him busy for a while so he won't be sitting back to accept that kind of praise any time soon.