A quarter century apart: the making of a bravery family

The remarkable story of Victoria Police veteran Jarrod Michael

If you ask Jarrod Andrew Michael where courage comes from, he will not mention the Bravery Medal pinned to his chest. He won’t speak of the moment the flames rose around him, or the knife glinting under a man’s arm, or the way he removed LPG cylinders from a backyard so no one would die that night. He won’t tell you about entering a stranger’s home alone, knowing police were 25 minutes away, because a family in crisis asked him for help and he simply couldn’t say no.

He will tell you it started long before that, with a father in uniform, a badge number passed through memory, and a childhood shaped by watching a man live a life of service.

Because Jarrod is his father’s son. And courage, in the Michael family, runs in the blood.

A father’s legacy

Retired Senior Constable Nev Michael, Reg No. 20223, raised his two boys in the shadow of the job. The pride, the sacrifice, the things police see and carry home shaped their lives long before either brother put on the uniform. Both sons would follow him into service; a pilot, and a police officer.

And both would one day be decorated for acts of bravery, 25 years apart.

Jarrod’s brother, Clinton John Michael, received a Clarke Silver Medal and an Australian Bravery Medal for actions in December 1995. The citation, neatly typed and faded with time, still sits in the family home as a reminder of what it means to step forward.

And then, in 2023, it was Jarrod’s turn. Another Michael son, another moment of truth, another medal engraved with the same word: bravery.

Two brothers, two medals, and a single family story of service, stretched across generations.

December 2021: a night that would change everything

On the evening of 6 December 2021, Jarrod, a veteran Victoria Police member, trained counsellor and volunteer Veteran Peer Support Officer, received a knock at his door. It was a family he had supported for years, the wife and children of Shannon King, a two tour war veteran living with severe PTSD.

Shannon was armed. He was drinking, suicidal.

He trusted Jarrod.

Jarrod took the house key from Shannon’s wife and drove straight there, calling the local police station on the way. The nearest unit was 25 minutes away.

When he arrived, he found fuel cans, weapons and Shannon’s own war medals arranged in a fire pit. The scene was prepared with chilling precision. He secured what he could, including the motorcycle, the fuel, and the entry points. He locked the home behind him. He made a Triple Zero call.

And then he waited.

Shannon appeared behind him with a concealed kitchen knife and a warning.

“Jay, don’t try to take the knife off me.”

From that moment the night unfolded in slow motion. Shannon moved to the rear yard where more weapons and fuel waited. Jarrod followed close behind, picking up axes, cylinders and garden tools when he could, throwing them out of reach. He stayed with Shannon through threats, pleas and moments of terrifying calm. Each time Shannon told him to leave, Jarrod refused.

When police finally arrived, the situation escalated. Shannon poured fuel over himself. He retreated into the shed. Jarrod heard the sound of a lighter striking in the dark. Then Shannon advanced. When a single window of opportunity opened, Jarrod tackled him, trying to remove the lighter from his grip.

Shannon ignited while Jarrod still held him.

Jarrod was forced back, yelling for Shannon to stop, drop and roll. He ran to secure emergency access. He grabbed water. Police applied a hose. Firefighters and paramedics poured into the yard.

Shannon survived, barely; and only because one man stayed.

Jarrod drove himself home that night. He declined treatment. He later learned the burning on his skin was caused by secondary exposure to OC spray deployed during the struggle.

In his formal statement afterward, he wrote of the courage of the attending police and the traumatic sights, sounds and smells that would stay with them for years. He did not mention his own role. He did not call himself a hero.

But others did.

A Bravery Medal and a moment of recognition

In 2023, in Brisbane, surrounded by his family, Jarrod received the Bravery Medal for his actions. The citation described what the quiet version of the story never could.

A veteran saving a veteran. A police member acting long after his service had ended. A man who risked his life without hesitation because someone needed him.

Two brothers now stand side by side in the records of Australian bravery. One decorated in 1995, and one decorated in 2021; their father’s legacy carried forward in the most literal and profound way.

A quarter century apart, the Michael family proved something simple and extraordinary.

Courage is not an act.

It is a lineage.