15 Minutes Can Change a Life

In 1993, I was a 23 year old Police officer trying to find my way in the world and in many ways trying to figure out who I was. At this time, I was working at the Balmoral Police station, which was located in an urban area. Our Police station consisted of an old converted home and a shed from which we would work.

This was a small station with an enquiry section and one 24-hour patrol car. One afternoon while in the office 'shed', I was typing an arrest file on our trusty typewriter - remember, with a typewriter, there is no erase, and any spelling mistake or misplaced comma would result in a do-over. Whiteout was not accepted, a typewriter like the one we would use each day can be found at the Auckland Museum :).

I was grumpy as I have no joy typing, so I was in full concentration mode when the phone rang, and the caller asked for me. I responded, "Yes, this is Constable Swanson". This was the first time I spoke with Sgt Tim Moroney.

He asked me if I had prepared and submitted an assault arrest file, to which I promptly responded: "Is my name on it?" Tim's reply was simply I can't submit this file to court as it is not up to standard and does not cover the required offence ingredients. This statement got my back up, and I said to him in a belligerent tone, "What do you mean, it's all there!" As I said at the beginning, I was still trying to find myself.

Tim asked me to come into the Auckland Central Police Prosecutions office to go over the file with him. This is a 20-minute drive. I did not have much choice as he was, after all, a Sergeant, so I stormed into the main Balmoral Police Station and asked the senior enquiry officer who this Tim Moroney was.

They told me not to worry about it, they urged me to go into the Prosecution’s office and sort him out. This was my first lesson, police officers have a weird sense of humour, they knew exactly who Tim was and the humbling lesson I was about to experience.

As I drove in to see Tim, I spent the time convincing myself how this could not be my fault and how I was going to put this Sergeant right. I was somewhat motivated when I entered the Prosecutions office. My first question was, "Where is Sgt Moroney?" Tim looked up from his desk and said, "That would be me".

The moment he made eye contact with me, a primal instinct of survival kicked in; even though he said this so calmly, it was clear this was not a person to be trifled with. A physically big man with a calm demeanour, however, it was those eyes that said very clearly... I am the lion, and you are the cub.

He asked me to sit down and produced my file. For the next 15 - 20 minutes, he gave me a master class in kicking butt. He did not raise his voice once, speak down to me, swear or even cut me off when I tried to defend the indefensible. His words were well thought out, considered and deliberate.

He gave me my dignity even though it could be fairly argued that I was rude and absolutely out of line. I took that file and, on my way back to Balmoral Police Station, played back what had just happened over and over.

It is simply one of the most valuable lessons of my life. Tim spoke to me with respect, gave me 'outs' when he could have easily embarrassed me and in spending 15 minutes mentoring me gave me a great gift.

Today, I am privileged to work with some amazing people. I am often placed in the position of a mentor, and I always try to meet Tim's standards of being a great human.

I shed many tears at his memorial on 21/8/22 and will always remember how 15 minutes can change a life. I believe Tim's secret is that he put me first that day, rather than finding any reward in destroying me, he built something.

Rest in Peace my friend.