17 July 2019
A brave Derbyshire PC will be among those honoured at this year’s national Police Bravery Awards which are being held in London tomorrow (Thursday 18 July).
PC Kim Wheldon, accompanied by partner Paul Kilbane, will attend a Downing Street reception along with other nominees ahead of a gala awards evening in the evening.
But despite single-handedly tackling a man who had just stabbed another member of the public, Kim, who is in her third year of service, says she is still surprised to have been nominated for the award by Derbyshire Police Federation.
“I never thought I would be put forward. I had already received the Chief Constable’s commendation which I was so grateful for and I thought that was the end of it. We all deal with difficult things daily and I just thought ‘who, me?’ I didn’t do anything that any other officer wouldn’t have done in the same situation,” she explains.
However, Federation chair Tony Wetton has praised the young officer’s actions.
He said: ““Kim is a very worthy nominee for the bravery awards which are held each year to highlight the brave and selfless actions of police officers across the country who day in, day out in carrying out their duties protecting and serving the public put their own lives on the line.
“Thankfully, Kim was not injured in this incident but the outcome could have been very different. The individual involved was clearly violent and unpredictable and Kim put herself in an extremely dangerous situation to ensure that no one else was injured. She acted in the finest traditions of policing and I will be very proud to accompany her to the bravery awards where her commitment to serving the public will be honoured.”