Bravery Awards: New officer sprayed with PAVA during arrest wins Walsall area award

15 January 2024

A student officer who was sprayed with PAVA as he made an arrest on only his third day in the job has been recognised with a West Midlands Police Federation Bravery Award.

PC Ibbadat Thaman, who has since qualified as a regular, said he was 'honoured' to be one of the first officers to be recognised at the branch’s inaugural Bravery Awards.

Ibbadat and his tutor were called to reports of shoplifting at two supermarkets in High Road, Walsall on 23 July last year.

They found two men who matched the suspects’ descriptions and while Ibbadat’s tutor stopped one of them just with the warning he had Taser, Ibbadat had to give chase to the second.

“I grabbed him and told him I needed to search him,” Ibbadat said. “He made off again and I caught him again.

“As I was taking my cuffs out, my PAVA was next to my cuffs and he grabbed it and sprayed me.

PC Ibbadat Thaman has been recognised with a West Midlands Police
Federation Bravery Award.

“I managed to turn my face away, and it went on my neck and then onto my face.

“I was struggling to see because of the PAVA, so I took my baton out and managed to use it to subdue him.

“I managed to cuff him and then support arrived.

“He was arrested and we found out he was wanted in connection two other incidents, one in the West Midlands and another in Staffordshire.”

Ibbadat will be the first recipient of the Walsall area Bravery Award, which is sponsored by Thomson Financial Solutions Ltd.

It will be presented at West Midlands Police Federation Bravery Awards, which are sponsored by Slater & Gordon Solicitors.

The awards take place on Wednesday 31 January at Tally Ho Conferencing and Banqueting Centre in Edgbaston.

Ibbadat said: “I was fairly new at the time, so it’s really good to win the award and have your actions recognised.”

Six months on, Ibbadat said he learned a lot from from the incident.

“It happened that early in my career and has made me more aware when I go to other incidents,” he said.

“The experience has taught me a lot. When you’re learning things in PST, you don’t really know how the world is outside.

“Now I have more confidence in myself and managing situations and conflicts.

“I think it’s made me a better police officer.”

Ibbadat was nominated for the award by Detective Inspector Helen Jackson.

She said: “I'm so pleased, and proud to see his work recognised.

“My day job is Detective Inspector in the Wolverhampton Investigation Team but on that particular day, I was covering as the Wolverhampton Response Inspector on Ibby’s shift.

“When the job came in, and I heard and saw how he responded, I didn't know initially that it was his first shift.

“The aftermath of the investigation sat with my investigation team, so I had seen it through from start to finish and felt immensely proud of one of our newest Wolverhampton officers, and how he had conducted himself in a situation that I am sure may have tested even the most experienced officers.

“I nominated Ibby for his immense bravery in such unique circumstances. He is a credit to himself, the team and the Force.”