Public and police officers lauded at Leeds Castle ceremony


Machete attack ‘professionalism’ A MAIDSTONE detective’s professionalism was praised after he led the hunt for a machete attacker. In the early evening of September 21, 2009, Ketan Dixit was working in his post office in Waterloo Road when a man stormed in demanding money from the till. The raider attacked himwith a machete when he refused to hand


AWARDS have been presented to police andmembers of the pub- lic for outstanding acts of bravery and achievement. The Area Commander's Awards were handed over by Chief


Supt Matthew Nix at a ceremony in Leeds Castle. Ch Supt Nix said: "The Area Commander'sAwards are designed


to recognisemore than just those who perform well, but those in- dividuals whose actions go way beyond the call of duty. “All the recipients are examples of Mid Kent's finest policing


and they should rightly be proud of their achievement in gaining this award. “It is also an opportunity to acknowledge members of the pub- lic who have assisted the police in keepingMid Kent safe.”


Tracking down a child abuser


THE tenacity of DC Paula Howe led to the conviction of a rapist, who once served as a school governor. The two-year trail, which eventually led to Maidstone Crown


Court, started in June 2008 when she investigated allegations of a minor sexual assault on a 12-year-old girl. The suspect was a family friend and a respected member of the community. He denied everything. However, unwilling to let it rest, DC Howe decided she would


do further investigations into his past. Sheworked doggedly to identify other girls withwhom thisman would have had contact and finally managed to identify and con- tact a 24-year-old university student. This woman disclosed years of historic, serious sex abuse against


her by the man. Her citation read: “Due to the hard work and extensive investi-


gation completed by DC Howe, 47-year-oldMichael Taylor, ofWest Street, Hunton, was chargedwith 20 offences of rape and sexual as- saults after he subjected his two victims to more than 10 years of abuse, one girl from the age of 11.” In August last year, he was convicted on 19 of the 20 counts and sentenced to nine years’ imprisonment after a 12-day trial.


rescue attempt WHEN a 64-year-old man suf- fered a heart attack and fell into the Medway, one of his work colleagues came to his rescue. Kay Card showed “incredible determination and courage de- spite the water’s icy tempera- tures” by wading into the shallow part of the river and pulling David MacDonald to the side, near the Travelodge hotel.


Despite, Mr MacDonald being


6ft tall and weighed down by water, Kay continued to hold onto him, ensuring he did not float away. She started to give him CPR. She continued to administer


first aid alone - other people walked by, offering no assis- tance - until four police officers arrived to help pull him up the bank and take over CPR. Sadly, although paramedics worked on Mr MacDonald for some time at the scene, he later died at Maidstone Hospital.


30 East River Medway


Her citation read: “Mrs Card displayed determination and bravery, despite the risk of falling into the river herself to try to save this man’s life.”


THREE men have been com- mended for their bravery in rescuing aman from a blazing car.


On Tuesday, January 11 this


year, a paramedic who was travelling home from work on the A20 at Leeds crashed into some trees after his car left the road at speed. The driver was trapped by


his legs and unable to escape. The impact of the collision caused the car to catch fire. Ian Ridgers (pictured at the scene), along with off-duty police officer PS Ross Gur- den


and Christopher


Dawkins managed to prise open the door and pull the driver free, just before the fire


over the money. Mr Dixit’s finger was severed as he raised his hands to protect himself. The offender then smashed his way out of the shop’s front window, stealing a laptop. DS Nigel Douglas traced witnesses to the crime and it was es- tablished that the offender was known in the area. DS Douglas then carried out a dynamic risk assessment on the suspect, Leon Beck- les, and ordered a raid on his house where he was arrested. Prop- erty stolen in the robbery was recovered during the raid, as was the machete used in the attack by Beckles. The commendation stated: “The level of professionalism and ex- pertise DS Douglas applied to this enquiry and the preparation of the evidence for court was also exceptional.” Beckles was jailed for eight years after he pleaded guilty to five charges, including seriously wounding Mr Dixit.


Thanks for coming to the rescue


ON December 16 last year, a 19-year-old man, who was deeply distressed, darted into rush-hour traffic on Maid- stone’s Sutton Road. It had started to snow, mak-


ing the roads even more haz- ardous. Traffic had come to a standstill near the young man who was stood in the middle of the road. Tina MacLeod- MacLean, who lives nearby, rushed to help. She grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the traffic. The teenager then struggled


with Tina, pulling her back into the traffic, narrowly miss- ing a lorry. Tina then grappled with him, swinging him to safety. She detained him by sit- ting on him until police patrols arrived. The man subsequently re- ceived treatment for his mental illness. Tina was commended for her, “quick thinking, bravery and selflessness. Her efforts ulti- mately saved the life of this vulnerable and distressed man. Her actionswere selfless in the face of real danger. “Not only did she pull the


man to safety, but kept him re- strained so he could no longer present a risk to himself or other road users,” added her commendation. *On October 24 last year, po-


lice received a call about a man sitting on the wrong side of the railings on a bridge over the M20. PC Chris Cochran and PC An-


drew Wise were the first offi- cers on the scene. With the assistance of traffic officers they helped to set up a full road clo- sure to ensure that no one else was put at risk. When they learned a trained negotiator could not be there for an hour, PC Cochran and PC Wise engaged with the dis- tressedman and persuaded him to come away from the edge. They spent about an hour speakingwith him and building a rapport. The man eventually agreed to come down off the bridge. He was unhurt and detained


under theMental Health Act. The two officers were com- mended for displaying “great tenacity and compassion in ex- treme circumstances”.


A20 car fire heroes lauded for saving man’s life


engulfed the vehicle. When po- lice and other emergency serv- ices arrived on the scene the car was fully alight and, by then, it would have been im- possible to enter the vehicle.


The commendation said:


“The survival of the driver is solely down to the quick thinking and selfless actions of Mr Ridgers, PS Gurden and Mr Dawkins.”


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