Finishing up: Sergeant Noel Bigwood of Otaki police is retiring after 40 years as a police officer.

Noel Bigwood has been shot at, people have tried to stab him, he has wrestled cows in Levin's main street and pulled a man out of live power lines.

Now the 58-year-old police sergeant is retiring from his post in Otaki, after 40 years of service between Christchurch and Palmerston North.

At the end of June, Mr Bigwood will hang up his hat for good, going on the OE he never had in England and Europe with his wife, while trying to "get the policeman out of me".

"You can take the man out of the police but it's a lot harder to take the police out of the man," he said.

"So that will be my goal. It will be a clean break. That is what I have always wanted."

Mr Bigwood did not choose to join the police but was forced into it by his father when he was 18.

"I remember I was lying on the floor watching TV when a $2 note floated to the floor in front of me and I snatched it. Then I asked what this was for.

"My dad said to catch the bus to Christchurch and join the police cadets. I had nothing better to do so I thought I'd give it a shot."

After graduating from police college, Mr Bigwood said he was close to quitting twice, but was pulled back by two situations where he found a missing child.

"The first time was about three months after leaving police college," he said. "I typed out the resignation . . . but decided to go out on one more beat before signing it and handing it in.

"I was going down Cashel St [Christchurch] which was quite busy at the time, and I felt a tug on my tunic and there was a little woman there, probably in her 20s and I found out she had lost her toddler in the crowd."

After calming the woman and getting details on the child, Mr Bigwood stood up to alert other officers on his radio and spotted a child about three shops away, and asked the woman if that was her child.

"And she couldn't see through the crowd, so I picked her up under the arms and held her up and she yelled out 'it is', and started running. But her feet were hitting my chest. So I put her down, and she raced off through the crowd.

"I got another tug on the tunic, and there was the lady, one hand tugging me, other hand on the child. I crouched down to talk to her, and she put her hand behind my neck and gave me a big kiss and said 'thank you'."

Mr Bigwood had another memorable day while working in Levin, when he wrestled two cows on Oxford St, after they had got loose.

"I held them down, I'd bulldogged them, while the vet used a tranquilising injection on them. I was on the front page of the paper holding this beast to the ground."

Along with the good times, Mr Bigwood said there have been some scary moments, including one in Otago during a high speed chase.

Travelling at about 150kmh in the middle of a 160km chase, a passenger in the car he was chasing started opening fire on police.

"I remember it like it was yesterday and it's all in slow motion."

Mr Bigwood put his lights on high beam to try to affect the gunman's sight and continued the chase.

"Luckily he had no idea how to use this rifle and fired it three times without [the shots coming close]. The adrenaline keeps you going in a situation like that."

In Otaki, 1989, Mr Bigwood recalls saving the life of a man who had fallen from a ladder and got caught in high voltage power lines.

He managed to use a long pole to push the man loose and performed CPR on him before ambulance staff arrived.

"Luckily he was a young, fit guy, and he was perfectly fine after it. Despite that many volts running through his body."

Along with his duties on the beat and behind a desk, Mr Bigwood has been involved in search and rescue for about 30 years and is officer in charge of the Levin SAR squad.

Officer in charge of the Palmerston North SAR squad Sergeant Andy Brookes said it would be hard to replace Mr Bigwood because of his experience and passion for his job.

"He's a consummate professional, I guess is the best way to describe him," he said.

"He has huge dedication and leadership skills. He's a natural mentor and encourages his squad. I think his experience and skills are something you simply can't replace."

A replacement for Mr Bigwood will be on board before he finishes at Otaki, the shortlist of seven people interviewed last week.

He said at least four of those interviewed have local connections and three had worked under him in Otaki.

"They are four people I respect greatly. I know they will do a good job."

And thinking back to joining the police force one last time, Mr Bigwood thinks he was given a push in the right direction.

"I think Dad was right."