A Met Police counter terror firearms officer once named the bravest officer in England and Wales has been suspended after allegedly sexually assaulting a woman at a train station.
Sergeant Stephen Brown, 47, is claimed to have sexually touched the woman without her consent at Biggleswade Railway Station on November 29 2019.
The force said: ‘We are aware that a serving Met officer has been charged with sexual assault following an alleged incident in November 2019. He is currently suspended.’
Brown was previously the recipient of a national bravery award in 2014 after he tackled a samurai sword-wielding attacker.
The knifeman repeatedly lunged at him with the weapon until the officer moved inside its arc and struck him with his metal baton.
Ahla Timofei, then 26, dropped the sword and Sgt Brown leapt on top of him, holding him down until colleagues arrived.
When they searched his rucksack they found a terrifying arsenal of weapons including a crossbow, mallet, machete and gas masks.
Brown was named the overall winner of the Police Bravery Awards at a ceremony in Central London, recieving the award from then-head of the Met Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe.
Ex-Prime Minister Theresa May lauded the officer, saying his actions were ‘a powerful reminder of the commitment and courage that police officers bring to their role’.
Brown, of Sandy, Central Bedfordshire, appeared at Stevenage Magistrates Court in November, when he entered a plea of not guilty.
He is set to appear at St Albans Crown court in September.
British Transport Police, who charged Brown, said: ‘Stephen Brown, aged 47, of Sandy, Bedfordshire, will appear at St Albans Crown Court on Monday 1 September charged with sexual assault.
‘The charge relates to an incident that took place at Biggleswade station on 29 November 2019.’
The dramatic confrontation involving Sgt Brown took place when he was called to an attack on a woman in Holloway Road, North London.
Witnesses heard the victim’s screams after Timofei set upon her with his sword, severing her thumb and leaving her with wounds to her face, arms and legs.
As his partner gave first aid to the bleeding 22-year-old Italian woman, Sgt Brown confronted the sword-wielding maniac alone.
Describing what happened, Sgt Brown said: ‘I was running full pelt at him and he turned around and raised the sword straight up in the air.
‘He swung downwards and the sword missed my neck by about a foot. I stepped back and said ‘put the sword down’, but he didn’t listen and took a few more swings.
‘After spraying him he went to scratch his eye and I thought, I’ve got to do this now. I rushed in and he raised his sword again but I hit his arm as many times as I could and managed to jump on top of him and the cavalry arrived.
‘I could see in his eyes he wanted to kill me. I wasn’t going to see Christmas: I thought my luck had run out.’
Sgt Brown was guided to the swordman by a passer-by who saw the original attack and followed him while on the phone to a police operator.
The officer said: ‘I have no doubt that he wasn’t going to stop until he killed someone that night. I also have no doubt that any cop would have done the same.
‘I’m not a hero: the real hero is the member of the public who went above and beyond and followed him, having seen what he had done.’
Timofei, 26, was later found guilty of attempted murder and affray and a judge ordered that he spend the rest of his life in a secure mental health unit.
Then-Home Secretary Theresa May said: ‘The actions of Sgt Stephen Brown are a powerful reminder of the commitment and courage that police officers bring to their role.
‘He put his own life in danger to defuse a terrifying situation. His intervention protected the public and may well have saved the lives of others.
‘We should reflect on the bravery shown by all the officers nominated, and that displayed by all police officers in the course of their duties each day.’
Steve White, chair of the Police Federation of England and Wales, added: ‘I am constantly humbled and amazed by the selfless acts of bravery carried out by police officers on a day to day basis.
‘For every act of courage and bravery recognised in the Police Bravery Awards there are hundreds more that occur in our communities every day that go unrecognised.’
