A Time to Reflect

It was with great sadness that I read about the death of PC Gary Toms. PC Toms was a CO19 officer with the MPS, and had responded to a robbery call in Leyton, East London on the 11th of April. He suffered a serious head injury when the suspects decamped from a vehicle and was subsequently hospitalised. On Friday the 17th of April his life support machine was turned off. My thoughts are with PC Toms' family, friends and colleagues at this time. What was particularly pertinent for me was to see that PC Toms had one year's less service than I, and was also 37 years of age. I wonder if he was married, as am I, and if he had a beautiful baby daughter, as I do. I wonder how many times throughout his shift, he thought of his family and loved ones, and hoped that no call came in towards the end of the tour that woud delay his being with them. I have no doubt that his family are immensely proud of the officer, and I have no doubt that the officer always performed his duties to the best of his ability, as do all of the officers I work with and have worked with throughout my career.