Two officers who apprehended a dangerous man with a sledgehammer, who had just tried to murder two members of the public, have won London Police Bravery Awards.
At around 1pm on 13th September 2021, PC Aaron Prayter and PC Alfie Challis responded to reports that a man had stolen a sledgehammer from a tyre shop in Leyton and had attacked a member of the public.
When the officers arrived at the scene, PC Prayter helped provide first aid to the victim. The man had been punched in the face and knocked unconscious. While he was on the ground, the attacker had repeatedly stamped on his head, before stealing his bag.
PC Challis searched the area for the assailant. A member of the public pointed him towards a corner shop, and he could see there were signs of a struggle inside, so he called for assistance from PC Prayter.
Both officers entered the shop and heard the shopkeeper pleading for help. Despite being unarmed and not knowing what they would find, they ventured further inside and found the suspect on the floor attacking the shopkeeper.
PC Challis recalled: “We rushed over and the suspect was over the shopkeeper, choking him with the handle of the sledgehammer. We shouted: ‘Get off! Police!’, and then I grabbed him and pulled him off.
“He didn’t fight us, and he dropped the sledgehammer. He was obviously suffering from a mental health crisis. We dragged the suspect out and arrested him for attempted murder on the shopkeeper and the boy outside. The shopkeeper thanked us; he said he couldn’t breathe, and if we got there a second later he would have died.”
Later the officers found out that the attacker had hit the shopkeeper on the head with the sledgehammer before getting him on the floor. Thankfully, both victims made a full recovery.
The police later discovered that the man had robbed a young woman earlier that day. The suspect went to court and was charged with robbery and two counts of attempted murder. He was sentenced to an indefinite hospital order.
PC Prayter said: “Alfie is someone that I trust with my life – I know that he’s got my back, and vice versa. We work very well together. We’re the sort of crewmates that, when you go to something, you just look at each other and you know what each other’s thinking.”
PC Challis said he was “shocked but happy” to receive a Bravery Award, saying: “It’s nice to be recognised for the good work you do.”
PC Prayter agreed, saying: “I wasn’t expecting an award, it’s just one of those things that you do. Every day, officers do thousands of good things. If the public knew some of the stuff we had to deal with, they’d be shocked.”
Matt Cane, General Secretary of the Metropolitan Police Federation, said: “This dangerous assailant tried to murder two members of the public and there was a real risk he could have turned his anger on our colleagues.
“Alfie and Aaron courageously intervened, running towards the danger as all police officers in London do, helping to save lives and get the attacker off the streets. They are heroes and very worthy award winners.”
PC Challis and PC Prayter 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 Officer Insurance Cover, part of 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.
