Two heroic police officers went into the sea in Brighton to save the life of a drowning woman in the dark.
PC Lara England and PC Lynsey Burkinshaw found the suicidal woman in the water near the West Pier. She appeared to be unconscious and non-responsive.
Superintendent Ed de la Rue said that the officers went into the water, pulled her out and rescued her and started first aid.
As Brighton and Hove Mayor, Councillor Dee Simson, presented the quick-thinking officers with commendation certificates, Superintendent de la Rue said: “Their actions without doubt saved the woman’s life.”
The courageous pair were among dozens of Sussex Police officers and staff and others to be recognised for their bravery, dedication and exceptional investigative skills.
At the Brighton and Hove divisional awards at the Brighton i360 another officer was commended for his courage after a colleague was stabbed.
PC Phil McGrath and his colleague had been checking up on a teenage boy at a house in Hove when the boy stabbed the other officer in the arm.
PC McGrath grabbed the weapon and held the youth, saving his colleague from further attack.
Brighton and Hove police commander Chief Superintendent Lisa Bell said: “Rather than run away, PC McGrath ran towards the young man and disarmed him.
“He saved his colleague from receiving further potentially life-saving injuries. His disregard for his own personal safety to protect his crewmate was brave and fearless.”
Park ranger William Furze helped to find a high-risk and vulnerable missing woman at Waterhall in Brighton.
Chief Superintendent Bell said that he directed police officers to where she was lying in undergrowth – and without his help it would not have been possible for them to find her.
He also helped them to carry the woman to a waiting ambulance. His actions were credited with playing a vital role in reuniting her with her family. He was presented with a commendation for his actions.
Detective Sergeant Owen Radley and Detective Constables Darran Newman and Tom Duffy were commended for their work on Operation Highbridge, investigating a serious of sexual offences on women and girls in the city.
Detective Superintendent Jeff Riley said that their determination to secure justice successfully removed a dangerous individual from the community, protecting vulnerable women and girls from his predatory offending.
He said that the case demonstrated the very best example of investigative tenacity.
