Hero cop who tackled Samurai swordsman in Holloway nominated for award
Sgt Steve Brown who tackled samurai sword wielding attacker - Credit: Archant
A hero cop who took on a Samurai sword wielding maniac in Holloway has been nominated for the Met’s 2013 bravery award.
Sgt Steve Brown caught Ahla Timofei, 26, on Tufnell Park Road, disarming him using his baton and CS spray.
Before he was arrested, on December 24 2012, Timofei had viciously attacked an Italian student in Holloway Road, and was roaming the borough with a bag containing knives, two swords and a crossbow.
In an interview with the Gazette in December Sgt Brown described how the sword came just a foot from his neck and how he thought he would not make it to Christmas day.
Timofei will spend the rest of his life in a mental hospital after being found guilty of attempted murder and affray.
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Sgt Brown, who found out about the nomination a month ago said he was honoured, but didn’t feel the award was necessary.
“Obviously I feel privileged to receive the nomination for such a prestigious award but I was just doing my job,” he said.
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“There are countless others out there doing the same thing every day who go unnoticed, they deserve it just as much as I do.
“I don’t know any of the other guys who have been nominated but I know there are some amazing stories.”
Sgt Brown is one of five officers nominated for Scotland Yard’s 2013 Outstanding Bravery of the Year Award, which is voted for by the public.
The other nominees include an officer who braved freezing lake waters to rescue a woman trapped in a sinking car and a PC who single handedly foiled a £50,000 armed robbery.
There are just 10 days left to vote and the winner of the bravery award and all the other awards will be announced at a ceremony alongside other Excellence award winners on Wednesday, January 22.
Police commissioner, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, said: “Such remarkable acts of professionalism and selfless acts of bravery are often carried out in the Metropolitan Police Service, but rarely remarked upon.
“These awards give us the opportunity to recognise and celebrate the courage of some of our officers, in saving lives and tackling armed and dangerous criminals.
To vote for Sgt Brown go to content.met.police.uk/Site/braveryaward – voting closes at midnight on January 12.
