Yahoo News Hero armed police officer handed award for chasing down gunman in Tottenham
A hero armed police officer has been handed an award after taking on a hooded gunman during a gang feud in north London.
Undercover firearms officer Martin Finney was shot at seven times by his attacker Sedat Meric in a Tottenham street in May 2014.
Meric, then 25, who was eventually jailed for 15 years for the attack, had already fired three shots at a pool bar before he saw the officer, swung round and opened fire.
Mr Finney, known as NC32 at the time, fired several shots back as he dived for cover.
He hid behind parked cars and relentlessly pursued his attacker into a dark residential street.
The gunman finally surrendered when he had emptied the magazine of his 9mm self-loading pistol.
The National Crime Agency firearms officer has been awarded the George Medal, which is the second highest civil decoration presented to those who have performed acts of bravery.
He said: “I wasn’t going to cower behind a car. I wanted to arrest him.
“I just tried to make myself as small as possible and get a good shot back.
“He went around the corner and I moved for cover.
“I could see his eyes looking at me and the gun coming up.”
The officer added: “At the back of my mind I didn’t know if he had already killed someone.
“His firing was totally indiscriminate; he had no regard for life. I was terrified somebody might have been hit.”
Mr Finney was on a surveillance operation in Tottenham at 10.45pm on May 23 when Meric started firing at the pool hall as part of an on-going gang feud.
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The officer was walking back to his car after being stood down for the evening when he saw Meric shooting at the pool hall with about 30 people inside.
Mr Finney, who was alone and wearing no body armour, identified himself, drew his gun and told the attacker to drop his weapon.
But Meric ran at the officer and opened fire with one bullet missing by just centimetres. He returned fire and took cover behind the parked cars until Meric, from Tottenham, surrendered.
The attack was caught on CCTV and shown during Meric’s trial. He was jailed for 15 years for possession of a firearm with intent to danger life in December that year.
Mr Finney, who has been a firearms officer for 12 years following a career in the army, added: “I was gobsmacked finding out about the medal.
“I have colleagues who have received awards, some posthumous, and to be honest I really don’t feel worthy to be in the same bracket as them.
“Receiving the George Medal is amazing, I can’t express it.
“All my family are incredibly proud of me.”
