Brave duo honoured at annual ceremony

13 July 2018

Two West Midlands officers who were threatened with a gun were honoured at this year’s Police Bravery Awards.

PC Lee Jones and PC Richard Meede, who are both based at Coventry Central, have attended a reception at 10 Downing Street. The Minister of State for Policing and the Fire Service, Nick Hurd today celebrated the bravery of 80 police officers at a special reception hosted at 10 Downing Street along with nominees from forces across England and Wales.

They will also attend a gala dinner and awards ceremony.

The pair were on duty during the late evening of Saturday 29 April 2017 when a call came in from a woman who was concerned about the welfare of a man living in Beacon Road, Coventry.

The caller stated the man had recently suffered a bereavement and she was concerned as he had been drinking and was a shotgun licence holder. She believed he may have taken his gun out of the cabinet.

The caller confirmed to call handling staff that no threats had been made to any party and that the man had not been aggressive or given any indication of being suicidal or having self-harm tendencies.

Police checks showed the man had no previous police history for firearms and was not known to mental health services.

Therefore, the log was assessed and deemed suitable for Force response officers to attend to conduct a safe and well check.

At 11.40pm, PC Meede and PC Jones attended the address and the man opened the front door to the officers to allow them in to his property. He then walked into his living room, picked up a double-barrelled shotgun and turned towards the officers with the gun in his hand pointing at them.

Acting swiftly and bravely, PC Meede grabbed hold of the shotgun barrel and pulled the gun away from the man, while PC Jones grabbed him round the neck to subdue him and prevent him doing anything further.

He was arrested, handcuffed and taken into custody. On later examination, the shotgun was found to be loaded with cartridges. The defendant was found not guilty at trial.

Inspector Lucy Bird said: “This was an extremely serious incident, which could have resulted in devastating consequences. The officers showed extraordinary bravery, quick thinking and fortitude in dealing with this.

“Both officers demonstrated courage and professionalism and the incident clearly involved a significant risk to their personal safety. Their actions went far beyond the call of duty and demonstrate the very best of response policing.”

After trial, the judge commented that the officer’s swift actions made it very difficult to establish intent and it was this swift action that undoubtedly saved his life. He stated the verdict took nothing away from the bravery of the officers and commented that he was impressed by the quality of evidence offered.

This year will be the 23rd Bravery Awards which have grown to become a significant event in the policing calendar. The awards are an opportunity to showcase policing in England and Wales at its very best.

More details will appear in our summer magazine.