BRAVERY
HONOURED
BRAVE OFFICERS WHO RAN TOWARDS DANGER
OLIVIA WATKINSON meets the ofcers who helped save lives during the London terror attacks in 2017 and who were honoured by the Royal Humane Society
I
t is often said that police officers run towards danger. There are few better examples than the appalling terrorist incidents at Westminster Bridge – which cost the lives of five people, including PC Keith Palmer – and at Borough Market, where eight civilians died nearly four years ago. Two Metropolitan officers who were
present at both incidents were Darren Laurie and Keith Malda who received a Bronze Clasp, a very rare decoration. The Royal Humane Society (RHS) also awarded them with the Police Medal, an annual award for exceptional officers. Keith is a full time Federation Rep
based in Brixton. At the time of the attacks he was a response officer in Lambeth. At Westminster Bridge he helped an injured person to safety. This made him acutely aware of the need for first aid kits when attending the Borough Market incident just a couple of months later. Keith turned his police van into an unofficial mobile ambulance, taking people to safety, dispensing medical kits, and delivering a gravely injured
28 | POLICE | APRIL 2021
BTP officer to King’s College Hospital. Keith says: “If you look at these attacks,
so many people did such important work and when it comes to awards, others deserve it as much if not more. You’re often wearing two hats as a Fed Rep, but during those incidents I was able to pass information to someone who I knew was going to look after the health and wellbeing of my colleagues.” Acting Inspector James Southgate
was a response sergeant in Brixton in 2017. He checked CCTV at Westminster Bridge, where Khalid Masood drove a car into pedestrians, and knew immediately it was a terrorist incident. “I got onto the control room straight away and got them to put out a message to direct all units to Westminster Bridge,” he recalls. “It was very surreal. A once in a lifetime event, though for me obviously it wasn’t.” James directed officers to where they were most needed and was on the bridge for several hours. At the second incident he delivered first aid to victims, adding: “We didn’t know where the terrorists were. It was dark and we felt like sitting ducks.”
He has since sought counselling to
come to terms with the incidents. Dean Cook assisted a woman who had been run over at London Bridge. He stayed with her until firearms officers approached with news of a possible explosive device on the bridge. At that moment Dean made the split-second decision to carry the woman 200 metres to Guy’s Hospital and safety. “As a human being your natural instinct to help comes out,” he says. Darren Laurie, a police medic, was involved in triage at both incidents. As a senior officer, he felt the pressure to not only do his job but provide an example to colleagues. Because of his experiences Darren has taken a closer interest in his colleagues’ mental health and has become a Blue Light Champion. This has influenced how he sees the RHS award: “I never want to forget the victims and the survivors of the incident, as well as the many officers who attended these incidents, either one or both, and are struggling with their mental health as a result.” Darren adds: “For me, Westminster
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