Give her a medal! Brave PC defeats armed gang
A POLICE officer was yesterday praised for her courage after taking on a gang of six armed men.
PC Christie Donald “deserves a medal” after she Tasered a gunwielding suspect as the thugs charged at her in the street.
Fearing for her life, she floored one of the men with a 50,000-volt blast from her Taser stun gun.
As he lay sprawling on the ground, his five accomplices ran off.
The suspect was arrested in possession of a semi-automatic pistol and ammunition.
A second man was captured nearby and police are hunting the other four suspects.
Dramatic
Commander Simon Rose said PC Donald’s use of her Taser was a “potentially life or death decision”.
The dramatic confrontation came after she and a colleague went to investigate reports of a break-in at 4am yesterday.
An off-duty special constable had spotted the gang raiding a semi-detached house in Hendon, north-west London.
It turned out the property was being used to grow cannabis, Scotland Yard revealed.
Cmdr Rose said: “While this turned out to be a burglary of a cannabis factory, the response by my officers – including PC Christie Donald, challenging the suspects as they ran towards her, Tasering one and recovering the firearm – demonstrates the split second, potentially life or death decisionmaking that officers are required to make every day.”
He added: “I am immensely proud of Christie and all the team. We have arrested two suspects but still have outstanding suspects to apprehend.”
Colleagues of PC Donald believe her bravery should be with a gallantry medal.
One commented: “It takes real guts and coolness to stand up to six armed men in the street. She really deserves a medal for that.”
The other men involved escaped in two cars, Scotland Yard said. One of the vehicles was chased by police but officers had to abandon the pursuit “due to the extremely dangerous driving of the suspects’ vehicle”.
Detectives investigating the incident are believed to have interviewed at least one person who was in the house when the suspects broke in.
A Yard spokeswoman honoured said: “It was established that the venue was being used as a cannabis factory. At this stage, there have been no further arrests.
“Inquiries are ongoing to identify and trace the outstanding suspects and vehicles.”
Cmdr Rose added: “The investigation team will take this forward. We welcome anyone with information relating to this matter to report it through to us either online or by dialling 101.”
The Police Federation said the incident involving PC Donald highlights the dangers faced by front-line officers.
According to the latest figures, there were more than two million unarmed physical assaults on officers of both sexes in 2016 and a further 302,842 assaults using a deadly weapon during the same period.
Earlier this month, a new law doubled the maximum sentence for assaults on police and other emergency service workers to a year in jail.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick was briefed about the incident involving PC Donald yesterday morning.
Last week, Ms Dick, the Met’s first female commissioner, launched a campaign to mark the 100th anniversary of the introduction of women officers.