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PCSO Stacey Griffin |
Rookie officer who comforted dying knife victim on police roll of honour
POLICE who cracked an international kidnapping plot, grabbed a suicidal woman in mid-jump and faced up to an angry man wielding a meat cleaver were among those who received commendations at a ceremony on Monday.
In all, 45 officers were honoured for their outstanding police work at the event staged at the Honourable Artillery Company, in City Road, Finsbury.
Stacey Griffin, a 23-year-old police community support officer (PCSO), was only six months into the job when she was called to a disturbance in Upper Street, Islington, in December last year. She found 16-year-old Nassirudeen Osawe dying from a stab wound to the chest.
She said: “I knew I had to do serious first aid so I applied pressure to the wound. I tried to communicate with him. I covered the wound up with a piece of cloth, applied it very tight and tried to reassure him.” Sadly, the teenager died in the street.
Ms Griffin, who gave up a job as a fitness instructor to become a PCSO, said: “It was quite a traumatic experience, being only six months into the job. I’ve learned a lot from it.” She was commended for professionalism and dedication to duty.
Other officers were recognised for work that led to the deportation of a sex offender, for arresting an armed offender in the face of a hostile crowd in Brecknock Road, Holloway, and stopping a prolific drugs dealer in his tracks.
One team managed to crack an international kidnapping attempt, chasing and confronting two hired heavies who were paid £20,000 to snatch a child. They rescued the child, who was hidden under a rug in the back of a car, and one risked injury in a confrontation with the child’s violent father.
PCSO Huseyin Gurdag was praised for chasing and confronting an armed robber.
PC Darryl Fong, another commended officer, and his partner PC Stephen Doe rushed to help when they heard members of the public were desperately holding back a woman trying to jump off Archway Bridge in March last year.
PC Doe co-ordinated support while PC Fong tried to talk the woman down. “She was very distressed,” he said. “I asked her name. The tone you use is very important. I was thinking how best to secure her because the people were holding her for a long time.
“I believe I asked her what was wrong. I was able to build up a rapport because I noticed she had an iPod so I was talking to her about what was on it.”
But at one point people holding the woman back loosened their grip and she turned to jump.
PC Fong thrust his arm through railings, grabbing her clothes as she kicked and struggled against him, dangling from his grip. He managed to keep hold of her until help came.
Doctors later told him he was lucky that his arm had not been dislocated.
PC Fong, who won recognition for his dedication to duty and bravery, said: “The other officers should have been here. It was a team effort.” |
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