New Zealand Police identifies officers who arrested Christchurch suspect

Dec. 9 (UPI) -- The New Zealand High Court lifted a suppression order on Tuesday, allowing the police to identify the two officers who arrested the man accused of killing 51 people at two mosques during a mass shooting in March.

In a statement, the New Zealand Police identified Senior Constables Jim Manning and Scott Carmody as the two officers who took down Australian citizen Brent Tarrant, 28, on March 15.

Tarrant has pleaded not guilty to 51 charges of murder, 40 charges of attempted murder and one charge under the Terrorism Suppression Act in connection to the Christchurch shooting when 51 people at two mosques were gun down.

Police Commissioner Mike Bush said Tarrant was arrested while en route to a third location.

The suspect was speeding down a road when Manning and Carmody rammed him with their cruiser onto the sidewalk and pulled him from the vehicle.

"The actions of Senior Constable Manning and Senior Constable Carmody on 15 March speak volumes to who they are as people and as police officers," Bush said. "They put their lives at risk to stop the alleged gunman and stop further harm."

For their efforts, they were visited in the weeks following the shooting by Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, and presented with the Commissioner's Gold Merit Award -- an award both men said was "humbling."

"From our perspective, we were doing our job and I know our colleagues would have done the same thing in that situation," the two officers said in a joint statement. "Our actions are reflective of who we are as police officers and as Kiwis. Every day when we go to work, the safety of the community is our priority and that was our focus when we made that arrest."

Manning joined New Zealand Police in 1987 and Carmody joined in 1993.