Two Metropolitan Police officers who bravely tackled and detained an armed man who stabbed one of them so severely that his bicep was cut in half have won London Police Bravery Awards.
On 16 April 2024, PC Matthew MacColl (right) and PC Vitus Ogbede were on patrol in Enfield, when police received reports of a man walking along Putney Road, armed with a knife.
PC MacColl and PC Ogbede were just one road away and immediately headed to the scene, fully aware of the potential danger. Neither officer had a Taser.
They came across the man straight away, standing on the pavement with a large knife in his hand. Due to the danger to members of the public, they knew they had to take decisive action to de-escalate the situation.
With calm communication, PC Ogbede instructed the man to put the knife down, but the man did not respond. PC Ogbede deployed his PAVA spray in a bid to incapacitate the man, but it was ineffective.
PC Ogbede recalled: “After issuing commands and he refused, I knew this guy had only one thing in mind and that was to inflict serious injury on one of us.”
PC MacColl grabbed the man’s wrist, pulling it towards the suspect’s body to control him and the knife. He said: “Everything about his body language said to me that he was going to hurt somebody.
“So I grabbed his wrist and I took his wrist into my body. My intention was to disarm the knife. But he pulled his hand free and sliced the knife upwards, grazing my forehead. And at that point, I knew I was going to get hurt. It was all about damage limitation.
“I just thought: ‘I'll go all in at this point’. So I grabbed him around the torso, underneath the right arm, in the hope that that would stop him having such a clean swing with the knife. I tried to take him to the floor, and he then stabbed at me repeatedly, missing a number of times but eventually connecting with my right shoulder.”
PC Ogbede said: “I could see blood on Matt, dripping out from his white shirt, and I didn't know where he'd been stabbed but I know he was injured.
“So now I knew we had to fight for our lives. We pulled the man to the ground and, with the assistance of other officers in attendance, we were able to overpower him by striking him with a baton to get him to drop the knife, which worked. I immediately cuffed him and called for urgent assistance.”
PC MacColl received hospital treatment, where he discovered that the knife had gone into his anterior deltoid and cut the bicep in half. He eventually recovered, and said he had received good support from the force.
He said: “I wanted to get back to work as quickly as possible and get back to doing what I love doing best.”
The suspect was given an indefinite hospital order.
PC MacColl said it was “incredibly important” that they were able to detain this dangerous man and get him off the streets: “It's one of the things I'm proudest of. When I look back at the CCTV, it was very efficient, and I can only really pay tribute to Vitus and the other officers in attendance.”
PC Ogbede added: “Matt was incredibly brave and I tell him he's my hero any day, any time. Despite the fact that he was stabbed, he still held on to that knife just to make sure the guy didn't let go. If he had let go, that guy could have inflicted that knife on me. I'm standing here today because of Matt – it would have been a different story if not for his bravery on that day.”
When he heard the pair had won Bravery Awards, PC MacColl said: “I'm immensely proud to be recognised by the Federation. I know there's a lot of officers that go through very similar situations and it is important to take a moment and appreciate that what we do is very dangerous.”
Metropolitan Police Federation Chair Paula Dodds said: “What an amazing pair of colleagues Matthew and Vitus are. They confronted this danger with immense courage.
“These officers selflessly tackled a knife-wielding man, responding to a crisis with professionalism, bravery and brilliant teamwork. Their swift actions prevented a potential tragedy.
“We are very proud of them both.”
PC MacColl and PC Ogbede will attend the London Police Bravery Awards 2026 on Thursday 26 March.
At the event three overall winners or teams will be announced, and they will attend the National Police Federation Bravery Awards in July.
The Gold sponsors of the London Police Bravery Awards are Police Friendly & Metfriendly, Axon, and Officer Insurance Cover, by Everywhen.
The Silver sponsors are Slater and Gordon Lawyers and JMW Solicitors.
The Bronze sponsors are Police Mortgages, Serve and Protect Credit Union, Accord, THB Solicitors, the National Police Healthcare Scheme, Uniform Mortgages, Addept, No1 CopperPot Credit Union, No5 Chambers, Blackfords and Penningtons Manches Cooper.
