POLICE FEDERATION BRAVERY AWARDS 2026


and immediately recognised the extreme risk to the driver and approaching trains. Working with the fire service, he helped set up spotters along the line before PCs Alex McGee and Anthony Grant- Marston arrived to provide Tactical Medical support. Despite being told by Network Rail that it was unsafe


to enter the tracks, the three officers made the decision to climb down and reach the casualty. They helped extract the driver from the overturned vehicle and carried him up the embankment, where PCs McGee and Grant-Marston began urgent medical treatment. PC Halstead performed CPR while fire service colleagues


assisted with airway management and a defibrillator delivered multiple shocks. Ambulance crews continued advanced care on arrival, but the driver could not be saved. The officers’ actions showed exceptional courage, teamwork and commitment to preserving life in extremely hazardous conditions.


O’Regan and Brotherhood supported the victim’s family at hospital. Other officers managed distressed witnesses and the wider scene. Dog support officers, PCs Robert-Lea Mountford and Craig Neeson, secured both animals, and CID teams led the investigation. Their collective actions prevented further serious injury or


death and demonstrated exceptional courage, professionalism and compassion during an extremely traumatic incident.


STAFFORDSHIRE


SUFFOLK An off-duty Detective Constable Scott Swallow, now A/DS, disarmed and restrained a knife- wielding man during a volatile incident in Barningham in 2025. DC Swallow was driving home with his 15-year-old son when he heard a woman screaming. He saw a man in his twenties, heavily intoxicated and holding a knife, shouting aggressively in the street. He stopped at a safe distance, called emergency services and instructed his son to stay in the car. His son then calmly relayed continuous updates to the control room. The situation escalated when the suspect advanced


towards him making threats. When a member of the public approached the man, placing themselves in danger, DC Swallow intervened. Together, they grappled with the suspect in the road, disarmed him and restrained him for around 20 minutes until officers arrived. Throughout the struggle, the suspect continued making


threats and attempted to harm himself, but he maintained control and prevented further injury.


A team of 11 officers showed remarkable bravery during a fatal dog attack in September 2023 after a man was mauled by two dogs near homes and a primary school. They restrained one of the dogs in the street for around 30


minutes with no protective equipment, allowing paramedics to reach the victim. At the same time, PC Karl Sproston prevented the second dog from escaping the property, putting himself directly in harm’s way. PS Katie Gallagher coordinated the response, while PCs


Katie Smith, Millie Holt, Adam Iche, Caitlin O’Regan and Elizabeth Brotherhood formed a human barrier to contain the second dog and protect the nearby school. PC Iche delivered the first critical medical care, and PCs


22 | POLICE | JUNE | 2026


SURREY PC Jay Wakefield pulled an unconscious driver from a burning vehicle moments before it exploded during a serious collision on the A281. On 27 June 2025, he witnessed a head-on crash between a car and a skip lorry while on duty in an unmarked vehicle. The car burst into flames as it came to rest on the verge, with the driver still trapped inside. PC Wakefield ran to the vehicle, found the driver unresponsive and the door jammed, and forced entry through the passenger side. Working in intense heat and thick smoke, he released the man’s seatbelt and dragged him across the cabin and out of the burning car. As flames breached the interior, he moved the unconscious driver further to safety with help from members of the public. After placing the man in the recovery position and handing


over to a nurse at the scene, he secured the area, located the lorry driver who was in shock, and coordinated the response until emergency services arrived.


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