Michael Low was sworn in as a Queensland Police Constable on May 14, 1980. He was stationed at Rockhampton, Cherbourg, Tewantin, Longreach and North Rockhampton.
At 6.17pm on February 29, 1984 Constable Michael Low and Constable Derek Pickless attended a domestic dispute in North Rockhampton. At the residence a man, who had appeared at court earlier in the day for obscene telephone calls, was in possession of a shotgun and a rifle.
Constable M.L.Low. Killed at Rockhampton on February 29, 1984.
Image No. PM0067 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.
After some difficulty in locating the exact address, Constables Low and Pickless arrived at the residence. Low exited the car first while Pickless advised Police Communications of their arrival. Pickless then followed Low towards the house and when Low knocked on the front door a male resident fired a shotgun through the door hitting Low in the chest. Constable Michael Low fell backwards off the steps and Constable Pickless, without regard for his own safety, dragged his partner to cover.
Realising that Low needed urgent medical attention, Pickless twice broke cover to get to the police car radio to call for help. The shooter continued to trade fire with Pickless while he was caring for Low. Police backup arrived and then the man’s wife came out of the house to say her husband had taken his own life.
In 1986 Constable Derek Pickless was awarded the British (Imperial) George Medal, initiated by King George in 1940, for his act of great bravery.
Constable Michael Low died at the scene. Constable Derek Pickless was awarded the George Medal for Bravery for his actions during this incident.
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This information has been supplied by the Queensland Police Museum from the best resources available at the time of writing. The Police Museum is open 9am to 4pm Monday to Thursday and 10am to 3pm on the last Sunday of the month (Feb-Nov) and is located on the Ground Floor of Police Headquarters at 200 Roma Street, Brisbane. Contact: E: museum@police.qld.gov.au
“FROM the VAULT – The death of Senior Constable Michael Low” by the Queensland Police Service is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (BY) 2.5 Australia Licence. Permissions may be available beyond the scope of this licence. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/au/legalcode