Three courageous police officers who ran towards the danger to disarm a volatile man brandishing weapons have won Essex Police Federation Bravery Awards

15 May 2024

Three courageous police officers who ran towards the danger to disarm a volatile man brandishing weapons have won Essex Police Federation Bravery Awards.

On 27 May 2023, officers were sent to a concern for welfare incident in Rayleigh, where a man was in mental health crisis, throwing items around and presenting a danger to himself and others.

PC Emily Stokes, PC Rosie Daltrey and Special Constable Mark Lane attended the incident and were directed into the garden where the man was standing with members of his family.

The man was sharpening tools, and the officers quickly saw that he was shaking while speaking to them. PC Stokes and PC Daltrey went to speak to him in the garden and continued to attempt to engage with the man while also being aware of the potential danger he could pose to their personal safety.

The man was guarded and unwilling to speak to the officers. Then he suddenly headed into a shed, where the officers could see there were more potential weapons.
 

The man was seen picking up what looked like a gun, cocking it and placing it down the back of his trousers. This prompted PC Stokes to draw her Taser and take aim at the man, while shouting commands at him. The man ignored the commands and reached for the gun.

PC Stokes said: “As I’ve looked down to speak on my radio to ask for his checks to come back, to find out who’s in front of me, I’ve heard what I describe to be a gun cock. The second the gun cocked I knew that my colleague next to me was unarmed so I drew my Taser.

“The gentleman had what I describe to be a handgun, from first appearance.

“I genuinely thought, ‘My mum’s going to get a knock on the door and say I’m not coming home’.”

PC Daltrey, who was relatively new in service, describes the incident as “frightening”.

She said: “When we first attended he was in his garden, quite calm and collected, but not many people like our presence, depending on the job we go to. But he obviously was quite shocked we were there and didn’t really want us there, but we were explaining, ‘We’re here, we’re going to have a little chat with you, and we just want to make sure you’re okay.”

With no other option available to her, PC Stokes discharged her Taser, which was successful in incapacitating the man temporarily so that PC Daltrey joined by SC Lane – who had been in the house with the family - could disarm him and secure the weapon.

They secured the appropriate medical supplies as a contingency and calmly treated the suspect with the utmost respect.

SC Lane said: “I hear Emily out in the garden, shouting for the male to put the weapon down, at which point I’ve walked out into the garden and heard Emily shout, ‘Taser, Taser, Taser’, and she Tasered the male. And as I’ve gone over, it’s transpired that he’d cocked what we believed at the time to be a viable firearm.”

On winning an Essex Police Federation Bravery Award, PC Daltrey added: “It’s nice to be recognised for mine and my colleagues’ work. We all work good as a team, so it’s nice that we got recognised for it.”

Essex Police Federation Chair Laura Heggie said: “This was a truly terrifying incident, where Emily, Rosie and Mark believed their lives were in danger.

“These officers confronted the threat head-on, showing immense bravery and professionalism.

“They also ensured the man was safely subdued and no one was hurt. We are very proud of their actions.”

The officers will attend the Essex Police Federation Bravery Awards on Thursday 16 May.

At the event a winner will be announced who will travel to London for the National Police Federation Bravery Awards in July.

The lead sponsor for the Awards is The National Police Healthcare Scheme.

Also sponsoring the Awards are Serve and Protect Credit Union, Rates Group, No 1 Copperpot Credit Union, Metfriendly, Niche, Uniform Mortgages, THB Legal, George Burrows, Arc Legal and Police Mutual.

The hashtag for the event is #EssexFedBravery.