A cop who helped end an armed siege has been formally recognised for his actions – 43 years after the incident took place.
Tony Everett, now 82, received his commendation from Craig Guildford, Chief Constable of West Midlands Police, at an awards ceremony at Tally Ho police training centre on Thursday 13 March.
PC Everett, known as ‘Bunny’ by his colleagues, was on patrol with a fellow officer on May 26 1982 when a call came reporting an armed robbery in progress at a post office in Bartley Green, Birmingham. The duo were only a mile away so rushed to the scene.
Post office manager shot
They discovered the post office manager had been shot and his assailant, armed with a shotgun, had run off with stolen cash. With the injured postmaster being attended to, Tony got back in his car and went on the hunt for the suspect.
Moments later PC Everett had his man and, despite being threatened, chased the robber into a nearby block of flats. The armed man forced himself into one of the flats, held its three occupants hostage and began a standoff with police.
After helping to evacuate nearby residents, PC Everett entered the flat immediately above the one the suspect was barricaded in. He lent over the balcony to talk to him, trying to convince him to give himself up.
Eight-hour siege
With other officers arriving on the scene, the siege continued for several hours with PC Everett at one point passing down fish and chips to the people below. But despite efforts to coax him out, the armed robber stayed put. He was convinced he had killed or grievously injured the postmaster. Thinking he had nothing to lose, he refused to give himself up.
Fortunately, the postmaster’s only injury was a gash to his hand. PC Everett told the suspect this but he refused to believe it. Hearing the radio playing in the flat, Tony had the idea of using that to get the word out that the postmaster had been discharged from hospital.
He contacted his colleagues who then got in touch with the local radio station to report this on its 6 o’clock bulletin. At 7pm, eight hours after the siege began, the gun-toting robber finally came out and surrendered, releasing his hostages unharmed. He was later jailed for 15 years.
40 years later Bunny gets recognised
PC Everett didn’t receive any formal recognition at the time. He continued in his role, retiring in 1999 after 30 years’ service.
He kept newspaper cuttings of the siege, but had always wanted an official memento from the incident to show family and friends, so he wrote to the Chief Constable in November.
Mr Guildford was only too happy to oblige, and he presented Tony with his Chief Constable’s Commendation at an awards ceremony this month.
