Police Bravery Awards: Courageous Suffolk duo nominated

13 June 2023

Two Suffolk Police Federation members have been nominated for this year’s national Police Bravery Awards after tackling a man who had threatened betting shop staff and members of the public with what appeared to be a handgun.

PCs Craig Cullen and Ryan Butters have been recognised for their actions after they arrested a man who had attempted to rob a bookmakers.

Although the weapon turned out to be an imitation, the pair of courageous cops did not know that when they tackled and arrested him.

“It all happened very quickly, we didn’t have time to worry about the consequences. We just needed to get the offender under control and prevent him from hurting anyone else,” said 48-year-old Craig, who joined Suffolk Police 10 years ago having served in the army for 12.

The offender brandished the weapon in the face of the cashiers, asking ‘if they wished to die’, as he unsuccessfully demanded they gave him money from tills.

Having left the bookmakers, he reportedly threatened a member of the public, holding the ‘firearm’ to her head and demanding money and a cigarette.

Shortly after, the two officers found him waving what appeared to be a silver revolver around, in the middle of Sudbury town.

“We saw what we thought was a weapon and we knew we had to act fast to detain him,” added Craig, who said he was ‘quite surprised’ to hear he had been nominated for a Police Bravery Award.

“It was a nice surprise but honestly, my job is to protect people - I was just doing my job.”

Echoing Craig’s comments, Ryan said he too, was surprised to hear about the nomination.

“As police officers, it’s not often that you get recognised for the good work you do,” added 29-year-old Ryan, who’s served as a regular officer for six years, having previously worked as a Special.

“We just knew we needed to get hold of him and arrest him. After all, although the weapon wasn’t actually real, there was always the possibility that it could have been.”

The Police Bravery Awards, which are organised each year by the Police Federation of England and Wales, will be taking place on Thursday 13 July in London.