Hero cop ‘saved man during Israel holiday’
A BRITISH police officer has been nominated for a bravery award after stopping an attack on a Jewish man — while on holiday in Israel.
Richard Burgess was in Jerusalem when he ran to help protect the man from three Arab assailants.
Detective Sergeant Burgess, who is training to become an Anglican priest, also serves as a part-time guide for a religious tour company.
He was part of a group which had just visited the grave of Oskar Schindler, which is in the Catholic cemetery on Mount Zion, when a woman approached him and begged him for help.
The police officer saw two children crying at the entrance to an alleyway. When he approached, he saw a religious Jewish man being assaulted by three Arab men.
He ran at the attackers and managed to subdue one of them, giving the victim time to flee the scene. Two other British police officers on the tour helped lead the man to safety.
Sergeant Burgess was attacked by the two of the assailants, one of whom hit him over the head with a claw hammer, stunning him and causing him to collapse to the ground.
When the man raised the hammer above his head,
Richard Burgess Sergeant Burgess, fearing a fatal blow, raised his arms high as he attempted to stand, which was enough to make his assailant pause, allowing the police officer to make his escape. He managed to return to the coach, and was later informed by Israeli police that two men had been arrested and charged. Apart from some bruising to his head, he was unhurt. News of the heroic actions during the incident in February last year only emerged this week following the award nomination.
Steve Taylor, chair of Essex Police Federation, said: “A police officer is never truly off-duty, and it is brave and courageous acts like that of Sergeant Burgess that prove this.
“He put himself in true danger, in a foreign country, because he could see someone in need. He is truly deserving of this nomination.”
The winners of the Police Bravery Awards will be announced later this year.