‘Police Officer of the Year’ in disbelief after receiving Diamond Award

5 November 2021

“Humbled” Phil Kingsley says he is still in disbelief after being named “Police Officer of the Year” at the annual Force Diamond Awards.

He clinched the title, which is sponsored by West Midlands Police Federation, having faced a number of challenges since joining the Force 18 years ago including being run over by a drunk driver.

Phil, who was nominated by his former sergeant, says the award is even more poignant following such a tough 18 months.

“When I found out I had been nominated, I was shocked. A friend texted to tell me. Then I found out I’d made the top three and I was so surprised, in a good way,” recalls Phil.

“It’s been a challenging few years for everyone. Without a doubt, I have received this award on behalf of the whole team.”

The Police Officer of the Year award falls under “Employee of the Year”, a category that is sponsored by the Police Federation and recognises outstanding service by individuals who go over and above what is required by their job.

Phil received his award at this year’s ceremony, which took place on 30 September - the first in two years, after last year’s event was cancelled due to the ongoing pandemic.

“I still can’t believe I won,” added Phil, whose wife joined him at the event.

The father-of-four and grandfather-of-one added: “My wife was straight on social media. So everyone knew I had won straight away, my phone was going mad all night. My family were all very proud of me.”

Phil’s award comes five years after he was run over by a drunk driver while on duty.

“We stopped a car that we thought had the drunk driver in, but it turned out to be a man who had done a double shift at his family restaurant and was just tired. We told him to get himself a coffee and make sure he got home in one piece and then the next thing we knew, a drunk driver had ploughed into us,” he explains.

Phil, who was seriously injured as a result of the incident and is still managing those injuries, was off work for 12 months, but admits he returned back to the job as soon as he could.

“The officer I was working with couldn’t go back to the job,” he added, “But I knew I’d rather be on the frontline than sitting behind a desk. Plus, I’d never had a day off, so sitting at home recovering in a comfy chair, just wasn’t for me.”

Another highlight of Phil’s career was when he managed to track down and arrest an offender who had violently attacked a sex worker.

“I watched the footage on grainy CCTV but could see someone had dragged a woman out of her car and was pretty much using her as a football. We managed to track him down and arrest them,” he added.

“The thing is, when I’m passionate about making a difference, I can get a bit obsessed – in fact, I can probably be a bit of a nightmare to work with – but, everyone knows that.

“I’m lucky that I’ve always been part of a good team. This award wasn’t just for me, it’s for my colleagues too.”

Working as part of the neighbourhood team that covers Smethwick, Phil says he is always keen to get to know the community and helping to improve their lives.

“We arrested a group of drug dealers and got them evicted from the house. The estate is nice now and all the residents are really grateful to us,” said Phil.

“It’s nice when we can make lives better. We try to get into the families nice and early, doing home visits to those kids we know have an interest in joining the police. We really like to engage with the youngsters.”

Now 53, Phil says making that major career change almost two decades ago was the best thing he ever did.

He ended: “I’m very lucky to do the job I do.”