Officers honoured for saving family from knifeman

Two police officers who tackled a knifeman who was attacking a family have been honoured with bravery awards.

PC Sophie McDiarmid and Sgt Chris Smith responded to a call that said a man was threatening members of the public on Savoy Crescent in central Milton Keynes at about 21:30 GMT on 3 February 2024.

As the pair were on their way, it was declared a firearms incident, but the two officers only carried a taser and it was ineffective, so they had to physically restrain him to arrest him.

The officers have been recognised with a Thames Valley Police Federation 2025 Bravery Award, which they will officially receive this Thursday.

When they got there, PC McDiarmid recalled: "We saw the man physically lunging at a group of people and with the knife, towards a young child.

"Chris said 'pull up short, I'm going to run at him'. Both of us jumped out of the car and heard a piercing scream from a woman."

They ran towards the man and Sgt Smith used his taser twice, but it had limited effect.

With the help of two members of the public, they then tackled the man physically.

He was arrested and PC McDiarmid provided medical care to the knifeman.

She said: "I was concerned he could have a stab wound as he was going in and out of consciousness and wasn't making any sense."

The 19-year-old knifeman was jailed for 11 years.

PC McDiarmid said they had had to react quickly without thinking of the consequences, and she was "shocked" to receive the award.

"If you start thinking, you'll hesitate, which means you're not going to deal with what you need to deal with," she said.

"Initially I just thought we were in the right place at the right time and did what every other officer would have done.

"But when you start talking with people, especially non-police friends, they're like, 'Are you OK? You've just run at someone who'd got a knife'."

Sgt Smith said that having "stopped a family of three, enjoying a night out, from being murdered was reward enough".

Their local Police Federation chairwoman Aileen O'Connor added the pair were "incredibly brave" and "very deserving" of the awards.

The Police Federation is a professional association that represents officers up to the rank of chief inspector.

Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.