A policeman dives into the freezing waters to arrest a man he suspects of stealing a statue

The work representing Ernest Rutherford, the physicist pioneer and 1908 Nobel laureate, will be able to get back on his feet. A man suspected of robbing a statue in Brightwater ( New Zealand) was arrested by a police officer two days later. The officer had to dive into the freezing waters of a river to catch the suspect.

During the robbery, surveillance cameras captured footage of a thief fleeing on a bicycle with the heavy metal statue.

“I had a good hot shower.”

Two days later, the 35-year-old suspect jumped into the Wai Iti River in the bleak winter to evade police. So, agent Jimmy White plunged into the icy water in turn to arrest him. “Despite all his efforts to escape (…), I swam behind him and managed to catch him,” the policeman explained in a press release. “I can tell I had a nice hot shower afterward!” he added.

The alleged thief was due to appear in court on Monday. The statue, which was found in a house in good condition, should be returned to its base at the Rutherford Memorial in Brightwater. Lord Rutherford (1871-1937) was a central figure in the study of radioactivity and led the exploration of nuclear physics.