Three officers who spent a staggering 50 minutes precariously suspended high over a busy A-road in Central London to stop a man from falling to his death have won London Police Bravery Awards.
At 10pm on 3 September 2024, the Metropolitan Police were called to reports of a man hanging over a bypass on the busy Euston Road in Central London.
He was suffering from Acute Behavioural Disturbance (ABD) and was being actively restrained by two members of the public, who were trying to prevent him rolling off an advertising board onto the carriageway below.
PC Leunik Bytyqi, PC Cat Powell and PC Niall Stephenson arrived at the scene and jumped onto the edge of the overpass to assist in restraining the man.
PC Bytyqi recalled: “We were around the corner from the incident, so when it came through on the radio we went straight there. We saw a small crowd, and two people up on this billboard over the bridge, about 30ft up. We pulled over straight away and I just ran there, not thinking of the consequences.
“Just before the billboard there was a railing. In between the railing and the billboard there was nothing, so if you fell in between it, you’d land on the road. There was no netting or anything.
“The members of the public were still there, and we asked them ‘Are you comfortable?’. They said yes, so we kept them there so as not to shift any weight. I jumped up, grabbed hold of the man’s upper torso, and PC Powell jumped up with me and held his legs. This guy was moving his arms, his legs, trying to bite us, kick us.”
PC Stephenson said: “I got up onto the railing, leaned onto the man’s legs, and at the same time I was able to get onto the radio and call for more officers, and also for the London Fire Brigade to come down with their working-at-height team.
“We needed to secure the man as quickly as possible, and l just remember fighting and wrestling to keep his legs pinned to the top of the billboard.”
PC Powell said: “When you deal with someone with ABD, it’s hard enough on the ground, because people become so strong. It took about six of us, in the end, to restrain the guy. We were trying to talk to him, he just wasn’t talking to us. He was yelling. He was very, very strong.
“My forearms were burning because of the metre gap between me and the billboard, so I was kind of leaning across – I needed all my core strength to make sure my legs didn’t slip.”
In total, the officers held on to the man for over 40 minutes, while he was continuously trying to fight against them. Meanwhile cars and lorries were passing underneath them.
When the London Fire Brigade rope team arrived, they secured the members of the public, but didn’t have enough rope to secure the officers as well. They closed the road and set up a cradle from the carriageway below; a cherry picker brought the man down to safety. The man was detained under the Mental Health Act and taken to hospital to receive the help he needed.
PC Bytyqi recalled: “Afterwards, we were thinking, ‘Did that really just happen?’. I got the shivers. I’m quite a new officer, I hadn’t experienced anything like that before. It dawned on me what he had tried to do, and how risky it all was. When you’re in the moment, you just run towards the danger and don’t think about it.”
Matt Cane, General Secretary of the Metropolitan Police Federation said: “These brave officers, as well as the members of the public, showed huge courage that day and without a doubt saved a man’s life.
“Policing in London is about much more than fighting crime. The officers’ remarkable, selfless acts of professionalism demonstrate the best of policing.
“Leunik, Cat and Niall were perched precariously above one of the busiest roads in London but they didn’t have a second thought.
“We are very proud of them.”
PC Bytyqi said: “When I heard we’d been nominated for the Bravery Award, I was proud of myself. It was a team effort, though – if it had been just one of us, I don’t think we’d have been able to do it. I also want to praise the members of the public who jumped up there prior to us arriving.”
PC Powell said: “I know it’s a bravery award, but I was thinking more about the members of the public who were up there first, without any equipment or any way to communicate. I just thought, ‘Well, if they’re up there, I’ve got to get up there’. So I’m honoured to get this award, but I think it’s part of our role to do things like this.”
PC Bytyqi, PC Powell and PC Stephenson will attend the inaugural 2025 London Police Bravery Awards on Thursday 3 April. At the event, three overall regional winners will be announced, who will attend the National Police Federation Bravery Awards in July.
The Gold sponsors of the London Police Bravery Awards are Metfriendly, Axon and The Ardonagh Group.
Also sponsoring the awards are Silver sponsors Bluline and JMW Solicitors; and Bronze sponsors Slater and Gordon Lawyers, Police Mortgages, Accord, THB Solicitors, Blackfords LLP, the National Police Healthcare Scheme, Uniform Mortgages and Penningtons Manches Cooper.
