A Waikato police officer on holiday in the UK has been praised for intervening after protesters smeared custard on the Crown Jewels at the Tower of London.
Senior Constable Mark Strongman – who has been in the police for over 29 years – was visiting the tourist attraction on Saturday morning with his wife and family when four people defaced the display case holding the Imperial State Crown.
Strongman said he heard a commotion going on ahead of him, before seeing that a substance -reported to have been custard and fruit crumble – had been thrown all over a display case.
Four people have since been arrested by the Metropolitan Police Service for the politically motivated vandalism, which has garnered international media interest.
“I walked up to the two female suspects and introduced myself, informing them that I was arresting them for criminal behaviour and advised them of their rights,” said Strongman.
“I took an oath to the Crown so I figured my arrests procedures would stick. One was in possession of a backpack so I was concerned about what could be in there so quickly removed that and waited with the females until the Metropolitan Police officers arrived.
“As you can imagine, the whole place shuts down when the Crown Jewels are at risk, some very thick steel doors slammed closed.
“My wife Carmen and my brother and sister-in-law were ahead of me and had no idea what was happening. I just dropped straight back into work mode and felt I represented New Zealand police well and in line with our values.”
Metropolitan Police thanked Strongman for a job well done, and acknowledged his “timely intervention and use of his police skills in detaining the suspects which assisted in ensuring there was no further damage to the Crown Jewels”.
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