18 Jan Chief Constable Stephen Kavanagh commends officers and members of the public
Six officers and three members of the public received commendations from Chief Constable Stephen Kavanagh during a special ceremony at Essex Police HQ in Chelmsford.
The officers and members of the public gathered on Friday Jan 13 at our HQ in Chelmsford to receive Chief Constable commendations, one of the highest accolades a Chief Constable can give.
Addressing the group, Chief Constable Stephen Kavanagh said: “We’ve got officers here today who have responded to help those most in need, officers trying to save lives, members of the public who have responded brilliantly whilst being attacked in their home, officers who have dived in front of moving trains to protect distressed children and officers here who have conducted complex child abuse investigations to bring offenders to justice. You all represent the best of British policing.”
Before the ceremony started, Brandon Lewis, the Minister of State for Policing, Fire and Criminal Justice and Roger Hirst, Police and Crime Commissioner for Essex, congratulated the recipients.
Roger Hirst, said: “I’m always stunned by your bravery, professionalism and the way that you manage to deal with extraordinary crisis in a very short and prompt space of time by resolving things and saving people’s lives.”
Pc Tobias Kemp and Pc Chris Aldridge were commended for risking their lives to save a teenager.
In January 2016, Tobias and Chris attended an incident in Chelmsford where a high risk missing 13-year-old-girl was found near a railway track.
Chris calmly engaged with the girl who was in a great deal of distress and negotiated with her whilst Tobias made his way closer to her. As the train approached, the girl made a move towards it and without hesitation; Tobias leapt forward and grabbed the girl to prevent her being struck. He held her out of the way until the train had passed.
Pc Robert Edgar, Pc Benjamin Savory and Pc Mark Lee each received a commendation for their dedication to saving a man’s life.
In March 2014, Robert, Ben and Mark attended an incident in the North of the county where a member of the public had found a man with serious injuries.
The trio commenced CPR on the man whilst reassuring the distraught witness that had found him. The team made every effort to save the man’s life but he sadly died of his injuries.
Detective Constable Emma Dove was commended for her dedication to securing the conviction of two sexual abusers in Tilbury.
Emma was involved in a complex child abuse investigation which led to a life sentence being imposed on one of the defendants for five counts of rape, sexual assault and incitement and a five year custodial sentence on the second defendant for permitting another to commit sexual assaults.
Emma dealt with the traumatised children with compassion and sensitivity and her high standard of the investigation led to the imprisonment of two dangerous individuals.
Three members of the public were commended for their bravery during an aggravated burglary in Loughton.
