We didn’t learn about it through a press release. There was no urgent media briefing. Not even a line from the Met Police Federation. What brought this horrific incident to light, a cowardly, vicious and sustained assault on two brave female police officers, wasn’t an official update, but rather a series of fragmented online posts, shared weeks later by people who cared enough to say something.
That’s where this story began for us…
On 3rd July, the account PD’s Dexter & Friends shared the following post on X:
“Our sincerest best wishes are being sent to two Police Officers @metpoliceuk who were assaulted on Monday 30th June whilst responding to a domestic incident. Both officers were hospitalised with their injuries, and the team are looking forward to their return. 💙”
No further context. No official statement from the Met. Just a quiet expression of support from within the policing community and a hint that something very serious and sinister had happened behind the scenes, out of public view.
It was former detective Peter Bleksley who picked up the digital breadcrumb trail and began asking the kind of questions the public deserves answers to:
“Regarding my earlier posting, it would appear that the post below relates to this incident, upon which @MPSBexley and @metpoliceuk are remaining silent. Why?”
– Peter Bleksley on X, 16th July
And that silence? It lasted almost three weeks. No public update. No obvious or clear mention of charges. Only through continued digging did we uncover the Instagram post from the account @brick_cop, which included this quote from someone close to the incident:
“She had her knee dislocated / possible fracture at work when she was assaulted and has a long road of recoup ahead of her.”
It was personal. Quiet. Heartfelt. But again, why were we learning about this from a Lego tribute page instead of from the Federation tasked with representing these badly injured police officers, who now face a long and tough road to physical recovery (I doubt that they will ever recovery emotionally from what happened to them).
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We then received two separate reports from sources who confirmed the incident had happened. One told us:
“The two female officers were from Bexley Police station and both received head injuries and both were hospitalised for some time.”
Another added—chillingly:
“It’s absolutely true, and it’s a travesty that it hasn’t been publicised. All I can say is that in my experience it’s by God’s grace that this wasn’t a double murder.”
It was only after we sent an official enquiry to the Metropolitan Police Press Bureau that we finally received confirmation and a clear outline of the horrifying and brutal reality of what those two police officers endured at the hands of a cowardly monster:
“On Monday, 30th June, at around 12:00hrs, police were called to reports of a disturbance at an address in Hatherley Road, Sidcup.
"Officers attended the address and attempted to arrest a man. During the incident, two female PCs were assaulted. Both officers were taken to hospital where they received treatment.
"One of the officers suffered with multiple facial fractures, and the second suffered with a broken nose.
"They have both since been discharged from hospital and are on the road to recovery.”
The suspect, Mark Weatherley, 43, from Sidcup, was charged with grievous bodily harm with intent on 1st July. It was remanded in custody and is due to appear at Woolwich Crown Court on 29th July.
This wasn’t a minor scuffle. These weren’t superficial injuries. This was a violent and sustained assault that hospitalised two police officers who were responding to a call for help, one of whom suffered multiple facial fractures. One of the officers has only just been discharged from hospital nearly three weeks after the savage beating. Yet it played out in silence…no media alert, no public solidarity, and no meaningful commentary from the Met Police Federation.
For many people who are in and around the Thin Blue Line community, that deafening silence speaks volumes.
Because when frontline officers are attacked in the line of duty, especially responding to domestic violence, where risks and danger are nearly always heightened, we expect to see support flood in. We expect transparency. We expect leadership to speak up, not just in closed WhatsApp groups or internal memos, but in public, where it counts.
Instead, we got a digital breadcrumb trail. And it took public curiosity, social media, and a bit of old-school digging to bring the truth to light.
If the roles were reversed, if members of the public had been seriously injured by officers, would the communication have been this sparse? Would we still be piecing the story together two weeks later? Of course not.
The senior leadership team in the Met would have convened a Gold meeting and issued public statements saying their thoughts were with the victims and their families. So where was that response for these two officers? Was there a Gold meeting? Were there any public assurances that every possible support would be given to the officers and their families?
These aren’t just uncomfortable questions. They’re essential ones.
We’re relieved to hear the officers are recovering. They deserve every ounce of support the force can offer. But they also deserve to be acknowledged properly, publicly and without delay. So does the public. We do not need to know their names or any other personal details, but we do need to know what happened. Because only by being honest about the dangers officers face, especially when responding to volatile and high risk incidents, can we begin to understand the true cost of the job.
If we’re serious about valuing the work police officers do, that respect can’t be conditional. It must show up especially when they’re hurt. Not just when the optics are tidy or the press release is ready, weeks after the incident happened.
And as ever, it falls to the emergency services community and their many supporters to notice what has been left unsaid.
Our team, made up of former emergency services and armed forces personnel, will be watching this case closely to see what happens to the vile individual responsible for the horrific injuries inflicted on these officers. If you want to stay updated on this story and others like it that rarely get the attention they deserve, make sure you subscribe to this free newsletter.
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OPINION: Two female police officers suffered horrific injuries, and barely anyone knew. What does that say about how we treat those on the frontline?
They responded to a domestic disturbance in Sidcup. Within minutes, both officers were on the floor, one with multiple facial fractures, the other with a broken nose. They were taken to hospital with serious injuries.
And then… silence.
No headlines. No statement from the Federation. Not even a post on social media. For nearly three weeks, nothing was said publicly. No updates. No recognition. No reassurance to their colleagues their families, or to the public.
I’ve served on a Met 999 response team for nearly a decade. I’ve kicked down doors not knowing what was waiting behind them. I’ve pulled people from danger, been punched, stabbed and even shot at (they missed).
But coming to the realisation that two police officers can be violently attacked, hospitalised with serious injuries, and yet no one inside or outside the job even knows it happened? That lands differently. It speaks to a deeper issue. And it shows just how far we, as a nation, have drifted from the values we claim to stand for.
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