Decades later, brave cop recalls moment officers were nearly blown up

Almost 22 years ago, a group of Queensland police officers were nearly blown up while responding to a domestic violence incident on the Gold Coast.

Responding to the call, seven officers found a distressed man threatening to ignite several 20-litre drums of fuel inside a car parked under his girlfriend’s townhouse in the early hours of December 7, 1999, in Coombabah.

The officers – Senior Sergeant Desmond Hearn, Sergeant David Ives, Major Gregory Newman, Detective Senior Sergeant Adrian Sala, Senior Constable Karen Wakefield, Sergeant Matthew Wakerley, and Sergeant Lyle Wiss – negotiated with the man for hours and evacuated the area.

Now they have been recognised for the Group Bravery Citation as part of the Australian Bravery…