Policeman praised for talking down drunken knifeman rampaging on Belsize Park roof

A quick-thinking policeman has been praised for ending a “siege” involving a drunken knifeman rampaging on a roof in Belsize Park.

Pc Andy Davey managed to calm the man down after he threatened his ex-wife with a blade and then took to the rooftops in Woodland Walk.

He was one of a host of heroic officers honoured for making Camden a safer place at the latest police commendation ceremony at Camden Town Hall on Friday.

Pc Davey was first on the scene after a woman called to say her ex-husband was brandishing a knife in November last year.

He quickly took the woman and her children to safety before finding the man locked in a bedroom with stab marks in the door.

The suspect then clambered onto the roof where he started ranting and raving, still armed with the knife.

As a police helicopter hovered overhead, Pc Davey feared the heavily drunk man would slip and fall off the slate-tiled roof, which by this point was being pummelled by rain.

Det Ch Insp Les Newman said: “His first instinct was the safety of that family.” He added: “The man started off being very abusive to Pc Davey, but Andy managed to build a rapport with this gentleman and continued to talk him down.

“Eventually he agreed to come down and surrender to Andy.

“Needless to say, Andy’s colleagues started a rumour that he bored the man into submission.

“But without a doubt, his decisive actions and communication skills ensured the safety of the initial caller, her family and indeed the suspect himself, who was heavily intoxicated and could have fallen off at any stage.”

Pc Davey was praised for “securing the safety of vulnerable victims and the rapid end to a siege situation” by Borough Commander Ben-Julian Harrington.

He told the Ham&High: “I was just happy for the witnesses because they saw him detained.”

“It sounds dramatic, but you don’t think about it at the time.

“He came down and there were no injuries – that’s the main thing really.”