Express & Star comment: Courage of bobbies on our streets
For all the good he does in keeping the streets of Wolverhampton safe, Sgt Ron Price's greatest service to date is to have saved a baby's life.
The quick thinking police officer helped to resuscitate eight-month-old Alexei Kandare after she suffered a fit and stopped breathing at her home.
Her family banged on the door of Sgt Price's office for help and he rushed to the rescue, instructed by paramedics over the telephone.
The officer then arranged a police escort so that Alexei could be taken to hospital as fast as possible.
The story ended in the happiest and most heart-warming of ways.
Alexei is well and has been re-united with the man whose cool and clear-headed actions saved her.
If ever there were an example of the value and valour of our boys and girls in blue, this is it.
We expect a great deal of our police when they are out on the streets patrolling, investigating and arresting those who would prey on decent people.
But the courage it takes to be on the thin blue line is not merely confined to the ability to stare into the faces of the worst examples of human society and keep them from harming the rest of us.
Sometimes it is the courage to respond without hesitation or doubt to the call for help from a family terrified that their precious child may be slipping away and step in to help, even if you fear you may not be the right person for the job.
In this instance Sgt Ron Price was exactly the right person for the job.
He is a credit to West Midlands Police and reminds us all that when it comes to the bobbies on the beat, they are, in more ways than one, a force to be reckoned with.
