‘Keith’s bravery bring into sharp relief the dangers officers face’

NORTHUMBRIA Police Federation has paid tribute to the bravery of PC Keith Palmer, the Met Police officer who was killed in Westminster this month.

Jim Gray, Federation Chairman, said: “Our thoughts are with the people who were killed and injured and their relatives and friends, but most particularly with PC Keith Palmer and his family.

“Keith’s bravery and actions bring into sharp relief the dangers that police officers face. He has given the ultimate sacrifice to protect others and democracy, and I hope that everybody recognises that.”

And while the tragedy must not alter the fabric of British Policing, Jim warned that more attention must be paid to how individual officers are deployed in certain situations and locations.

He said: “Our approach to policing in this country has got to remain the same in terms of the fact that we police by consent and we are generally unarmed. However, we have got to be cognisant now as a police service around what that means to individual officers in certain locations.

“But our ethos and who we are should remain unchanged in the shadow of these outrageous acts. We will not change how we approach and how we interact with the public we serve.”