PC moves out of family home to protect baby daughter

3 April 2020

A West Midlands Police officer has spoken about his agonising decision to move out of his family home and away from his eight-week-old daughter to protect her from Coronavirus.

PC Richard Bracey (39) is one of thousands of officers across the country who are protecting communities in these testing times.

Because he will be coming into contact with members of the public who may have contracted COVID-19, Richard, like other officers and staff, is at a higher risk of catching the virus than millions of other people who have been told to stay at home by the Government.

So, he has said goodbye to Isla-Rose and partner Kelly to protect them from the virus which has already claimed well over 2,000 lives in the UK.

“I don’t want to move but I have to put Isla’s health at the top of my priority list,” says Richard. “Being a police officer means I am always at a greater risk of catching the virus and bringing it home.

“It was an extremely tough decision and it will be very difficult not being able to see Isla and Kelly but it’s the right decision in the circumstances.

“Who knows how long I will have to be out of the house for? If the crisis continues for a long time, I hope Isla recognises me when I go back home because she is only eight-weeks-old. It’s that early-life bonding time I am really going to miss.”

Richard, who has been self-isolating for the past seven days, will now move into his mother’s house which has been empty because she has moved in to look after her own mother during the pandemic.

Richard’s story has been featured in The Sun Online. He informed the newspaper of his decision after hearing of numerous other emergency service workers who were making similar sacrifices.

West Midlands Police Federation chair Jon Nott says Richard will not be the only officer in the region doing this kind of thing in a bid to protect others.

“This is an example of one of the many tough decisions that officers are facing while trying to protect their communities and their families at the same time,” Jon added.

“During an unprecedented time of national crisis, police officers are proving to be, yet again, selfless and dedicated to the cause while under enormous pressure.

“It must be putting enormous strain on their mental health and I want them to know that we, as a Federation, are always there if they need any help or support.

“These are times when we are all pulling together to do whatever we can for each other. As an emergency service, we are obviously in the front-line of leading the response to the pandemic but we are all human and there is a huge personal cost being paid by police officers and staff and other workers as they maintain essential services for the communities they serve.”