Life savers, crime fighters and Covid heroes – just some of the Met’s incredible Excellence Award winners

    Commissioner Cressida Dick and former Prime Minister John Major with the winners of the Bravery Award

    Police officers who rescued two injured teenagers trapped inside an illegal rave, a team who supported frontline officers and the NHS at the height of the pandemic and detectives who have shut down hundreds of county lines are among the awe-inspiring police officers, staff and volunteers from the Met Police who have been recognised at the Excellence Awards event

    Home Secretary Priti Patel and London Mayor Sadiq Khan joined the Met Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick to congratulate all the finalists and the winners at the event.

    Special guest presenters included Penny Lancaster – herself a Special Police Constable – and former Prime Minister John Major. The awards, held on Tuesday, 21 September in London were hosted by LBC’s Nick Ferrari.

    PCs Ben Shaylor, Ali Khan and James Whittaker, from the Territorial Support Group, were announced as the winners of the Bravery Award, for their tremendous courage saving two young people suffering medical emergencies at an unlicensed music event in Brent in 2020.

    Around 1,000 people were inside the venue which had been shut and secured to stop the police from getting in. Despite this, the officers fought their way in to rescue a 15-year-old girl who had fallen down a fire escape, suffering serious leg injuries.

    While coming under attack from the crowd they selflessly used their bodies to shield the girl from being hurt further whilst they provided first aid and then evacuated her from the property.

    The trio even returned after they became aware of a teenage boy unconscious and struggling to breathe due to a suspected drugs overdose. PCs Shaylor, Khan and Whittaker forced up some shutters and pulled the boy out to give him life-saving first aid.

    Upon collecting the award with his team, PC Khan said: “I’m lost for words that we have won this award. It’s an incredible feeling to save a life – it makes the job all worthwhile. I feel really fortunate that we receive all the training we do, and that we are able to be there at the right time to save lives.”

    The Commissioner’s Award went to The Pandemic Multi-Agency Response Team made up of officers from Specialist Operations. The team were recognised for their work supporting frontline police officers, London Ambulance Service and the NHS, at the height of the pandemic by providing a 24/7 response to all COVID-19 related community deaths across London.

    The Operational Team of the Year Award went to Operation Orochi, for their work disrupting county lines drug gangs in London and across the country that exploit children to run drugs.

    The team have closed 260 drugs lines and have charged more than 300 people with offences including over 1,000 charges for the supply of class A drugs. Their work has resulted in county lines criminals being jailed for more than a total of 500 years.

    The Criminal Justice and Victim Care Award was won by DC Sam Orchard, for his work supporting the victims of sex crimes in Camden and Islington boroughs.

    In just five months, DC Orchard secured 29 charges relating to seven separate investigations, working over prolonged periods of time to bring the perpetrators to court.

    Also highly commended in the same category were former DC Nicky Cameron and former DS Debbie Moore, for their support of 11 victims of historic sexual abuse and their work to secure the convictions and sentence – of over 29 years imprisonment - of two men. 

    The victims - all young boys - were abused by two men who worked at a youth club they attended in Harrow during the 1970s. Despite both officers retiring during the investigation, they returned to support the victims through the criminal trial.

    Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick said: “Again we have heard the truly awe-inspiring stories of Met police officers, staff and volunteers acting with courage and professionalism to save lives, to achieve justice for victims of crime and always going above and beyond for Londoners, to protect them and keep them safe.

    “I am exceptionally proud of all the finalists and I hope their stories will resonate with the public so that they feel proud of their Met, and may even be inspired to want to come and join us, where they too can help people and everyday make a real difference to people’s lives.”

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