Met officers climb Snowdon in full gear in honour of fallen colleague Sergeant Matt Ratana

Colleagues of murdered Sergeant Matt Ratana have raised over £5,000 hiking up Snowdon in riot gear for the charity named in his honour.

Sergeant Matt Ratana was shot in the chest at Croydon Custody Centre, in south London in the early hours of September 25 last year as he prepared to search a handcuffed suspect.

To honour him Team E response constables Nick Fox, Joshua Long, Tom Pearson, Freddie Clark, Matt Patterson and Kieran Cook based at Hackney and Tower Hamlets spent their holiday in North Wales to complete the climb on Wednesday, May 12.

The usual ascent time for the highest mountain in Wales, at an elevation of 1,085 meters above sea level, is estimated at around three to four hours.

It took the team, who decided to wear full MPS public order training gear, four hours and 59 minutes to reach the summit.

PC Nick Fox, who organised the trip, said: “We wanted to do something for Matt and the foundation set up in his honour, which is all about wellbeing, inclusion and teamwork.

“Climbing Snowdon is something we have always wanted to do and then I had the idea that we could do it in full Level 2 gear to make it that bit tougher. That certainly worked and the physicality of this challenge would not have been lost on Matt.

“We decided to climb the PYG trail on Snowdon with an aim to complete it – up and down – in five hours. A challenge of this kind has not been attempted before and certainly has not been completed in this time, so I am very pleased we managed to do it with a minute to spare and have already raised over £5,000.

“It was tough but a lot of fun and it was for a cause that is close to all of our hearts.”

Commissioner Cressida Dick visited the Met’s Dog Training Establishment at Keston to meet the “Ratana litter” alongside Sergeant Ratana’s partner Su Bushby, who chose their names in tribute to him.

The German Shepherd puppies have now been allocated to handlers in order to start a 12-month training course to become fully licensed police dogs.

Ms Busby described her partner of five years as a “gentle giant” and said his memory would live on in her “head and heart”. Sgt Ratana had been due to retire after 30 years’ devoted public service to spend more time with his partner.

On Wednesday Prince William joined Cressida Dick at the custody centre where Sgt Ratana lost his life.

During the visit, William took part in a moment of reflection for the officer. He lay a wreath on a memorial bench and said: “I’ve wanted to come here for a while.”

Dame Cressida added that his visit is “going to mean a lot to people.”

Read More

Prince William pays tribute to ‘gentle giant’ Matt Ratana

Government can keep amount spent on ‘useless’ PPE confidential, judge rules

No ‘conclusive’ evidence to deviate from roadmap, says Boris Johnson