2025 POLICE BRAVERY AWARDS
arrival. When firefighters arrived moments later, they swiftly entered the house, equipped with breathing apparatus, and successfully rescued the male from the upper floor before transporting both victims to the hospital.
SUFFOLK Student PC Eva Palmer displayed valour in tackling an offender wielding a large knife at a free family music event. She said her priority was to ensure public safety as she chased the offender through crowds of festivalgoers and along busy streets in Ipswich town centre before detaining him. But she said she could not afford to hesitate in chasing the suspect with so many people around, and that her training kicked in. PC Palmer was on a routine engagement patrol in the early evening of Saturday, 13 July, at the Global Rhythm festival, a free world and Caribbean music event held at the town’s Christchurch Park, which last year attracted more than 11,000 people. The force control room received reports of an incident between rival groups, with three people being threatened by a suspect wielding a weapon described as a machete. A man was then seen running through the crowd with a large knife or machete, and PC Palmer, who was on attachment to the force’s Community Policing Team, immediately gave chase. She tracked the suspect along Tower Street and towards the main pedestrian area of Ipswich town centre, which was busy with people from the music event. She eventually detained the suspect and removed the Rambo-style knife.
SURREY PC Marissa Barwell and her highly trained police dog, PD Ella, put themselves in harm’s way to protect others without hesitation from a suspect with a large knife. Surrey Police received multiple
999 calls reporting a man armed with a large knife, aggressively threatening members of the public, including children. The severity and immediacy of the threat led to the incident
being declared a spontaneous firearms incident, with taser- trained officers directed to the location. PC Barwell and PD Ella were the first to arrive on the scene, a busy parade of shops where numerous civilians, including families and children, were present. The suspect, a heavy-set male, was spotted near an alleyway adjacent to a shop, openly brandishing the weapon in an intimidating manner. Without hesitation, she made a split-second decision to exit her police vehicle with PD Ella and courageously positioned herself between the armed suspect and the public. She immediately issued clear commands for the man to drop his weapon. Instead of complying, the suspect raised the knife and aggressively pointed it towards PC Barwell. Rather than retreating, she maintained her stance,
29 | POLICE | JUNE | 2025
PC Marissa Barwell and police dog, PD Ella from Surrey police
containing the suspect and preventing him from moving towards the public or escaping the scene. PC Barwell’s actions allowed vital time for additional officers equipped with tasers to arrive and provide support. With the suspect still armed and presenting a serious threat,
the combined efforts of the officers on the scene led to the safe detention and arrest of the individual without any harm coming to officers, the public, or the suspect.
SUSSEX
PS Matthew Seekings (below right) and PS Craig Lees (below left) risked their lives at sea at night to save a vulnerable child from drowning.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52
