Officers ‘humbled and honoured’ at national bravery awards

Two Avon and Somerset officers attended 10 Downing Street after being nominated for the National Police Bravery Awards 2024.

Dog Unit Sergeant Nick Dalrymple and Response officer PC Mitchell Raymond were nominated for the award after coming to the rescue of a distressed man on a busy motorway.

On the evening of Sunday 28 May 2023, having just left the scene of a serious collision on the M5 northbound, Sgt Dalrymple was alerted to a concern for welfare incident involving a pedestrian on the M5 southbound carriageway on the Avonmouth Bridge.

Sgt Dalrymple, who is based out of the force’s Wilfred Fuller Operational Centre, was first on the scene and made attempts to reach the man, including putting his police car across the busy motorway due to the Bank Holiday weekend.

PC Raymond, who was off-duty at the time, was driving home from work and came to Sgt Dalrymple’s aid.

The pair had never met before, but jumped into action to safely detain the man in order to get him the medical help and support he needed.

Both officers received a Chief Constable’s Commendation on 29 November 2023 for their efforts and were then nominated for the awards in May this year.

They were then later joined by Deputy Chief Constable Jon Reilly, Acting Chair of the Avon and Somerset Police Federation, Iain Prideaux, and Police and Crime Commissioner Clare Moody for the formal ceremony at The Royal Lancaster Hotel in London.

PC Raymond said: “It was an honour to be nominated for this award with Nick. It was a completely surreal experience being at this event and being able to walk around Downing Street. It was an unbelievable moment in my life and something I will never forget.

“The event in the evening was also incredible and we got to meet all the other officers who were nominated. The stories from every force were truly inspiring and it was great to be able to be recognised for all the hard work we do.

“One thing which really stood out to be was how, every officer I spoke with, had the same mindset of ‘we were just doing our job’. For me, this really highlighted how incredible the resilience of policing is and how we push on every day to help members of the public despite what we encounter.

“I have made a friend for life with Nick. Spending this week with him and his wife was an absolute pleasure and I had no idea, nor did I expect, how this incident would lead to this incredible experience and meeting a friend for life.”

PC Raymond also extended his heartfelt gratitude to Iain Prideaux who escorted the officers to the awards.

Iain said: “It was a pleasure to take the officers to London for the National Police Bravery Awards. Their selfless bravery and commitment to public safety and tackling crime is inspirational.

“The ceremony was a wonderful chance to also thank the friends and family who support the officers through the good and the challenging times.

“Thank you, Nick, Mitch, Jack and Louise, for your service to our policing family and the community we serve.”

Sgt Dalrymple called the awards an ‘incredible once-in-a-lifetime experience’ who was honoured to walk through the ‘inner sanctum’ of No 10 Downing Street.

He added: “It was also a wonderful opportunity to demonstrate our appreciation for our loved ones for all the support they give us.

“The awards ceremony was extremely humbling, as we heard the amazing accounts of heroism displayed by our colleagues across the breadth of the UK.

“The recipients of the regional and national awards were worthy and deserving winners and we were genuinely humbled to be in their presence and hear about their incredible bravery.”