West Mercia officer honoured at Police Bravery Awards
14 July 2023
A West Mercia officer who jumped into a fast-flowing river to save a man’s life has been celebrated at the national Police Bravery Awards 2023.
PC Chris Rogers was invited to Number 10 Downing Street yesterday (13 July) before attending a glittering awards ceremony in London in the evening alongside nominees from across forces in England and Wales.
Chris was accompanied to the awards ceremony by West Mercia Police Federation workplace representative Sergeant Rob Seewoosaha.
Rob said afterwards: “It was an absolute pleasure to be able to travel to London with Chris for what is one of the most important dates in the policing calendar.
“While we fully acknowledge that police officers go above and beyond while serving and protecting their communities, these awards give us the opportunity to really shine a light on their acts of bravery.
“All too often, their outstanding work goes unrecognised, and it seems it is almost taken for granted but it is worth also highlighting that each of the winners at the ceremony in accepting their award also told the audience they felt they were just doing their job and that any officer would have done the same.”
PC Chris Rogers ahead of the Downing Street reception
In the incident for which Chris was nominated, he had been guarding a scene at Greyfriars Bridge, Herefordshire on 21 June last year, when he saw a man jump into the river from a bridge 25 metres away before landing face down.
The male appeared to be unconscious in the fast-flowing and murky water, and time was critical to avoid hypothermia setting in rapidly.
The brave PC made the decision to enter the water and dragged the man onto the river bank where he began chest compressions and urgent CPR.
The victim was taken to hospital by ambulance and made a full recovery.
West Mercia Police Federation chair Barry Horton said: “The bravery and selflessness that Chris showed that night shows that no matter where you are, or in this case which force you may be assisting, you must always have your wits about you in the event a situation like this arises.
The overall winners on the night were 14 West Midlands Police officers who risked their lives to pull four children from a frozen river in December and perform CPR, though tragically the youngsters could not be saved.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak paid tribute to all the nominees, saying: “I am acutely aware of the pivotal role that the police play in our society. We depend on officers to fight crime and keep us safe. This is public service of the most noble kind and everyone working in policing has my enduring gratitude and admiration.”
