Michael Anthony Whiting QPM

Constable Whiting was on duty in the West End of London in a police van with another officer. They were behind a Jaguar car waiting at traffic lights when the car quickly moved off and sharply turned left as the lights changed to green. The officers’ suspicions were aroused and they decided to stop the Jaguar. The car went the wrong way round a roundabout and continued at speed, swerving from lane to lane, until eventually it stopped at another set of traffic lights. Constable Whiting got out of the police van and opened the front passenger door of the Jaguar to speak to the occupants but the car moved off and Constable Whiting began running along beside it, holding on to the door and the roof.

The other officer ran from the police van to his assistance and tried to take the ignition keys from the car but was unable to do so. With both officers running alongside it, the car moved on until it collided with a van. The driver made no attempt to stop the car but kept his foot hard on the accelerator, trying to push the van out of the way. Eventually the van veered to the right and the Jaguar shot forward. The second officer had to jump clear to avoid being crushed between the Jaguar and the van but Constable Whiting had his feet inside the car and, although he could have jumped off, he continued to hang on. As the Jaguar sped away the occupants of the car tried to dislodge Constable Whiting, but despite being in grave personal danger, he resolutely continued to try and force the Jaguar and its occupants to stop. Eventually he was thrown from the Jaguar as it collided with another car and he landed in the roadway sustaining a fractured skull from which he died later the same day.

Constable Whiting was posthumously awarded The Queen’s Police Medal for Gallantry.