KEY POINTS:
Sergeant Derek Wootton's heart was in the Porirua community, where he touched countless lives and fulfilled his dream of serving the public.
Hours after a speeding car ended his life yesterday, his family spoke about an inspirational leader of men with a passion for his job.
Mr Wootton was struck and killed as he laid road spikes to stop the driver of a stolen car fleeing police.
Speaking to the Herald at their mother's Porirua East home yesterday, his brothers told of a talented sportsman who fulfilled a long-time dream when he became a policeman in March 1994.
John Wootton said Derek was "a proud cop, proud of what he did".
The tragedy echoed a terrifying near-miss faced by his brother Dave, also a policeman, 10 years ago, when he had to throw himself over a motorway median barrier seconds before a truck skidded across the spot where he had been taking details from a motorist.
Dave Wootton described Derek as "a real good guy, loved a good time".
"He had a very good sense of humour, which has been known to crease the occasional inspector's brow," he said
Derek's sense of humour was one of the ways he was able to draw his colleagues together into a very close-knit team, he said.
Dave Wootton said Derek's colleagues in his police section were "absolutely devastated".
"[It's] one of those sections where everyone's well led, which makes them perform well."
Said John Wootton: "He's grown up in Porirua, loved Porirua, loved serving in Porirua, loved the people.
"But the thing that characterised Derek more than anything else is his love of his job, his love for the police and the people he worked with on the frontline and in the section."
The brothers said they had only just collected from hospital their mother, Cathy, who has been unwell with a weak heart.
Mr Wootton's partner, Bronwyn Hewitt, is a dispatcher in the police central communications centre in Wellington. The pair met about 10 years ago in the Porirua police bar.
Mr Wootton was a builder and ran his own company before joining the police.
Police Commissioner Howard Broad said the death "brings home to us all the vulnerability of police officers as they go about their work protecting the public".
"There is a sense of shock and grief throughout New Zealand police, but also a feeling of solidarity, as family, friends and colleagues deal with the loss of an officer who lost his life during the course of duty," he said.
A 32-year-old man appeared in the Porirua District Court yesterday charged with dangerous driving, dangerous driving causing death and failing to stop after a motor accident.
He was also charged with aggravated robbery, the theft of a Honda Prelude car in Tawa on Friday morning and kidnapping a 16-year-old youth, who was the second person in the car when it hit Mr Wootton.
The accused man was remanded in custody until Wednesday.
- NZPA
