A single crewed officer who courageously entered the scene of a horrific machete attack – and then helped to gather the evidence to send the offenders to jail – has won a London Police Bravery Award.
On Monday 13 February 2023, the Metropolitan Police Service received 999 calls reporting a large fight involving machetes and samurai swords inside The Duke’s Head pub in Walthamstow, which had resulted in a number of severely injured victims.
PC Bobby Hicks was first on the scene and single-crewed as he entered the pub.
PC Hicks said: “I grabbed my first aid kit, went running round there, and it was absolute carnage. There was blood everywhere. The bar stools were snapped in half. There were snooker cues snapped in half.
“There were initially three victims, who had multiple stab wounds to the back, to the leg, to the arm, one in the neck. Being on my own, I quickly assessed the level of injuries and who needed my attention more.
“I identified one guy who had stab wounds to his back, so I started to treat him, then I shouted, ‘Is anybody first aid trained?’ and a member of the bar staff said she was, so I threw her some bandages from my first aid kit and she helped me assess and treat the injuries.
“There was alcohol involved, so people were still being aggressive. There were fights taking place while this was all happening. It was a very hectic scenario; it was still really hostile for at least 15 or 20 minutes after I arrived.”
At one point, PC Hicks had to restrain the injured person he was treating when he tried to strike out at associates of the suspects.
PC Hicks continued: “My guard was up the whole time. Although the person who called the police said that the suspects had gone, this person was untested. I could have been going into an environment where they were still there. But I felt that I was capable,
within my limitations, to try to save one person out of the three, if I couldn’t save them all.”
When the London Ambulance Service and back-up police officers arrived, PC Hicks debriefed them fully. They had also located another victim outside the pub who had sustained stab wounds to the neck; he was later identified as one of the original assailants. The four injured people were taken to hospital for treatment and all of them recovered.
PC Hicks recalled: “Once it had calmed down a bit, I put my investigative head on and turned to securing the scene, securing significant witnesses. I made contact with supervisors and CID and I was responsible for collating all of the officer statements, body-worn video and compiling the crime report.”
At Inner London Crown Court in April 2024, two suspects were sentenced to 23 and 25 years in jail, for attempted murder and GBH on three victims, knife possession and drug offences.
Matt Cane, General Secretary of the Metropolitan Police Federation, said: “Bobby entered this highly volatile scene not knowing for sure if the suspects were still at large. Given the absolute carnage he encountered he was at risk all the time he was in there and on his own he needed eyes in the back of his head.
“He concentrated on saving people’s lives, but also collected the evidence that helped this case reach court and the offenders receive hefty prison sentences. We’re in awe of his courage, and congratulate him on this award.”
When he heard he’d won a London Bravery Award, PC Hicks said: “It’s come as a bit of a surprise! I’m so proud of being a police officer; I do this job to protect people and to put people behind bars who deserve to be behind bars.”
PC Hicks 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.
