Constable Raja

An off-duty PC who sprang into action to break up a brawl single-handedly has been nominated for the National Police Bravery Awards 2025.

On 25 April 2024, PC Mohammed Raja, from the Metropolitan Police Service, was off duty and driving along Southall High Street with his family when he saw plumes of grey smoke and a group of people coming out of a pub.

As he got closer, he saw that it was a large fight, spilling out onto the road and causing an obstruction.

Around 15 to 20 people were using weapons, including sticks, chairs, other pieces of furniture and even a fire extinguisher, which was where the smoke was coming from.

PC Raja immediately placed himself on duty and called the incident in on 999. Recognising the imminent risk, rather than staying in his vehicle and waiting for local units, PC Raja ran towards the fight in order to save life and limb, provide first aid, and prevent further injuries.

Clearly outnumbered, PC Raja used his tactical communication skills to challenge the assailants and attempt to break up the fight.

At first the staff wouldn’t let PC Raja inside, believing him to be one of the brawlers. He showed them his warrant card. They let him in, and he asked if anyone was injured inside the pub.

Thankfully, the staff were unharmed, and the blood had come from the group of men who had been fighting among themselves.

PC Raja stayed on scene until uniformed, on-duty colleagues arrived; he provided a briefing and handover; however, no arrests came of it and the investigation was concluded.

Reflecting on the ordeal, PC Raja said: “Looking back on it, I did put myself in a dangerous situation. But I just thought, due to the immediate danger this group was posing and the fact they were using weapons, I couldn’t stand aside.

“It was a natural instinct to help and do the best I could in that situation. I didn’t want members of the public to be further impacted by this, and I just wanted to protect life, at the end of the day.”

General Secretary of the Metropolitan Police Federation Matt Cane said: “Mo placed himself at huge risk in order to prevent further injuries and damage. This would have been a challenging incident, even for a team of officers with protective equipment.

“Mo was alone with no support, yet demonstrated a huge amount of bravery, professionalism and tenacity. He’s a credit to the uniform and we are very proud of him.”