Officers ambushed by armed man awarded for bravery

PC Rachel Rance (left), PC Jack Jones (center) and PC Thea Sheppard (right) are among the group awarded for bravery

Six police officers have been awarded for their bravery after they were ambushed by a man carrying what appeared to be a gun.

Two officers from Thames Valley Police were lured to an address in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, in December 2021 at about 05:30 GMT when a man snuck up on them and pointed an imitation firearm towards them.

The pair managed to escape to safety and the man was later arrested after more officers arrived.

PC Rachel Rance recalled: “I was terrified I was going to lose my life."

"The officers who arrived after I pressed my emergency button showed huge support and selflessness. They acted with integrity and courage, knowing they were entering a very volatile and dangerous situation,” she added.

Replica gun

On 13 December 2021 Ms Rance and a colleague were called to an address to retrieve an evidence bag.

After arriving the officers noticed a bin had been set alight and as they extinguished the flames a man approached them holding a replica gun.

While the man pointed the weapon at Ms Rance she managed to press a button on her radio and request back up.

The colleague, who wished to remain anonymous, then crouched behind the police car, which distracted the man long enough for Ms Rance to escape.

The pair ran to a nearby parade of shops and located a car with PC Thea Sheppard and PC Jack Jones inside, who had arrived as back up.

Firearms officer PC James Sage and another colleague then arrived in an armed response vehicle.

The man followed instructions from the officers to get rid of his weapon and he was arrested.

'Lucky it ended well'

Mr Sage, who is a voluntary firearms officer, said he was just doing his job.

He added: "At the same time I do recognise that it’s not an everyday occurrence, these incidents are very, very rare, and we’re just lucky it all ended well for everybody.”

The six officers will attend the 2024 Thames Valley Police Federation Bravery Awards on Thursday to receive their decorations.

During the event an overall winner will be announced who will travel to London in July for the National Police Federation Bravery Awards.

Craig O’Leary, the chair of Thames Valley Police Federation, said the force was proud of how the officers performed.

He added: “These six officers acted quickly to stay in communication, support each other, and deal with this dangerous man without anyone getting hurt."