Myles Corcoran I have been asked by Myles’s family - to give some background regarding his police career. The reason for this - is because, apparently - Myles very rarely shared his exploits and his achievements with them. Which is very sad - because - they are possibly unaware - of what an exceptional Police officer - Myles actually was. I would like to stress that though I stand here before you - what I say has been gathered by a cross section of Myles’s various friends and colleagues from the three police stations at which he served. Kennington, Kings-X and Holborn. Myles police career actually started in September 1979 , when he joined the Metropolitan Police Cadet school. Which - as I understand it - was like being at school - except you dressed up like - an underground - ticket collector - and spent all day running round carrying telegraph poles - whilst being shouted at, by the instructors. But - having been good at that…… On the 2nd November 1981 - Myles attended The Metropolitan Police training School, - which - is like being at college— except - this time you dressed up as police constables and you marched up and down and round and round - still whilst being shouted at by the instructors. In February 1982 Myles arrived ‘in the real world.’ - D relief at Kennington police station, in Lambeth- His divisional number was 144 Lima Kilo . This - is where I and some of you - forged our friendship with Myles. - Though - Much of that forging — was actually done in our second home - known as The three stags public House - later - we further “forged that friendship” at what became our spiritual home …..The Pineapple public house. I could, of course, now go on to regale funny stories —and some not so funny stories. Or - I could tell you about the incredible amounts of Guinness, Larger and Whiskey that were consumed at all times of the day, - before work - after work - when there was no work - I even heard of some people drinking during work . However- I don’t think its - these particular facts -that Myles family are interested in. So Let me inform you of some of the details that Myles was too modest and too humble to tell you about Even at a very young age Myles was a traditional type police officer. He was honest, he was fair, he was hard - and above all he was reliable and sensible - and very quickly - he gained the respect of all his colleagues. Personally - I was always happy to be on patrol with Myles, I always felt he had my back in any situation. I have no doubt that all of the police officers here - will understand what I mean by that - especially knowing Myles as we do We will all have personal examples of this quality, one of mine relates to an incident we were called to - on a Sunday Late turn. We were dealing with a serious violent disturbance in a flat - between a group of males armed with weapons - the only available back up was coming from the Brixton and Clapham area cars. During this fracas, Myles managed to look after himself - and also -catch the wrist of a guy wielding a butchers meat cleaver. A cleaver - which if it wasn't for Myles - speed and strength that night - would have been imbedded in the back of my head. Thats the type of guy Myles was….he always looked out for his mates - (Thankfully.)- But myles would then - modestly- always play the incidents down. Myles may also have been too modest to explain the scars and injuries he had picked up whilst doing his job - you may - or may not - have noticed that he had trouble closing his hand. The reason for this- was- whilst doing a stop in the Kennington Oval - a guy had pulled out a knife and Myles had grabbed it - but the blade had run through the palm of his hand damaging his fingers. On another occasion , following the arrest of a violent man in the front office of Kennington station. Three of us had brought him, - still fighting - into the charge room - where, the sergeant told Nick May to let go of his head - Nick did object - but the skipper insisted - and no sooner had he let go —that this individual turned and head-butted Myles square in the face - breaking his nose. Myles may also have been too modest to mention to you - the fact he was highly commended on two occasions - by Ian Johnson, the four area Deputy Assistant Commissioner. In 1993 having tackled and disarmed an armed robber, Myles was commended and his presentation stated it was for ‘vigilance and bravery, when apprehending an armed robber after a violent struggle, whereby you displayed complete disregard for your personal safety - when threats to stab you were administered’. Myles was commended again by the DAC in 1994 - the details of which are not known to us - his mates, - however Speaking to some of the South London contingent they remembered that Myles had talked - to safety - a person threatening to jump from a ledge and that Myles had also prevented a guy from severely injuring his wife with a machete - during a serious domestic incident. So Take your pick. Myles also played his part - in major national newsworthy incidents such as the Miners dispute- the Brixton and Tottenham Riots and the Poll tax disturbances - just to mention a few. By the way, Myles wasn't only about the - ‘all action’ - he actually had a couple of goes at passing the sergeants exam -and he may have been too modest to mention - that on the first occasion - he missed getting his sergeants by a mere two marks, a brilliant effort as this was on the old system, which was extremely tough. Having had more than his fair share of aggravation and injury - Myles decided he wanted to slow things down a bit - and he became a home beat officer in the - Lambeth Walk area, I actually think he spent most of his time - practicing - doing the Lambeth Walk (any evening any day oi). Myles could regularly be found, taking copious amounts of tea and biscuits with many of the elderly folk in the care homes there. —- who - let me tell you - absolutely adored him….he charmed the slippers off them . Now , it was at this point that Myles decided he had come to a bit of a crossroads in his career, He had spoken with me regarding what he could do … I tried to talk him into joining the crime squad, Myles was a good copper and had a great knowledge of our ground. He spoke, of going to diplomatic protection or maybe doing security at the houses of parliament. But eventually - he transferred to Kings Cross, his shoulder number being PC 180 Echo Kilo. Myles drove the van and later he passed his advanced police driving course, (which- by the way - is one of the most respected driving courses in the world . But he may have been to modest to mention that to you ) It was whilst he was here - that - I - personally believe - that Myles got his second wind - and the true nature of Myles -as the police officer -blossomed - he stepped up into the spotlight - and very much became the king pin, on his relief. He was respected by his peers - and the probationers there - loved to be posted with Myles - on the van or on the Area car - Echo 1. I was amused to hear that Myles had carried over from Lambeth his love of a cup of tea and a biscuit - He was of course - prominent on the social front too - He would regularly debrief in the local pub with his colleagues. And attended relief trips - to Ireland, Prague, Slovakia and Amsterdam - and of course - a pint of Guinness and some good banter were ever present. But it was Myles ability to share his experience and his ‘style of policing’ that was the star of the show. I have heard from Myles’s colleagues of his ability to deal with potentially dangerous situations - not with force - but by his ability -to communicate - an invaluable policing skill that Myles had in abundance - Not that Myles would ever step back from confrontation - if it was the last - required resort. Barrington has told me of an incident Myles dealt with, in a sandwich bar - the owner of which had been stabbed- Myles was dealing with the scene when the suspect came back - still armed with a knife. The suspect had mental issues - and - as we all know - these circumstances can develop into the most dangerous for everyone present - but - Myles overpowered the individual - without injury being caused, to himself , the suspect - or innocent bystanders. He then kept him detained until assistance arrived. Now I know that Myles would have played this event down- and Barrington did go on to say - that Myles just referred to it as “the nightmare on Elm Street”. As for the mental and physical Trauma he had faced - Myles went and had a Guinness in the local after work. For those of you not aware - This is a tried and trusted counselling method - often employed by experienced police officers. Myles would have been too modest to tell you - his family - what it was really like - to be a front line uniform police officer- working in inner London, dealing - on as daily basis - with domestic upheavals - public disorder - violence - death and worse still - pain in the arse Governors. Eddie has sent me a terrific text about Myles - (which has been helpful and I have weaved its content into this speech). But it was one line in particular - that I found refreshing and poignant. ———Whilst referring to working with Myles- Eddie stated - and I quote “never have I laughed so much - in my life” - and I thought- what a blinding tribute that is -a- Myles family would never know —-and how could they.— what a fantastic person Myles was - to create an environment - in a busy inner London police station - in which - his colleagues were so enthused to come into work - on a daily basis. Carrying out arduous and sometimes dangerous tasks, - in the knowledge - that they would piss themselves laughing all day long . Absolutely Brilliant -sorry father- ( laughing - only at the appropriate times of course) Finally - on the story front - Alex has told me about an elderly woman on their patch - who constantly called for police to various crimes - apparently taking place in her home - and every one knew, that these calls were bogus - But - as police officers your duty-bound to attend each time . Easy to be annoyed, as a busy police officers -- But Myles - would always take time to speak with the lady and make sure she was safe and ok. And What Myles would never ever think - to tell you - in his modesty — is that he would check to see if this vulnerable little old lady was short on essential provisions, and he would drive up to the local co-op - and from his own pocket - he’d replenish her fridge and her cupboard. - - That there - is pure- Myles Corcoran - and that - quality of policing - would - undoubtedly- have rubbed off on his colleagues. I’m sure - that those same colleagues - are fully aware - how lucky they were to have Myles as an influence in their development as rounded Police officers- and - I think, we as members of the public can rest assured that these officers will continue to do the Met - and themselves - proud. I mentioned earlier how myles had received injuries during his service, the last and probably most telling - was an injury to his back. Myles received this whilst jumping out of the area car. The significance of this - was that he ended up having to take an office role for the last few years of his service. And although he undoubtedly would have made the best of this time, there - it was probably not where he wanted to be - and he began to look forward to his retirement date. The very day - that that date came along - I took a phone call at about 4pm - it was Myles .. his words to me were something like - “That’s it then - thats my 30 done- and Im off Paul .” I was a bit confused really I said are you having a drink down there? - He said nahh…. I might have a walk down to Dunnings later - see whose about !! “ — Needless to say I wrapped up what I was doing , drove over and we had a few beers together - I remember Chris and ……were there. And it It all seemed - a bit odd at the time-a bit surreal. But actually- in hindsight - it just summed Myles up - 30 years of unblemished and exemplary police service - all spent at busy inner London police stations. -and how does he draw a line under it… Myles just Books off, goes home - has his tea - and then walked down to Dunnings for a couple of beers - end of story - not one for a whole - hullaballoo- was Myles so there you go - I hope that I have helped reveal to Myles's family ‘something’ of the career that Myles the police officer - was too modest and humble to tell you about And now - if I could just sum up - and so that we are all clear…. Myles Corcoran took no nonsense - but he had a sense of humour he was courageous and he was humble - He was fair and he was honest - Myles was always listened to - and he was respected - Myles was loyal and he was very much loved - and so - to all of Myles family - and to us his friends and colleagues- I say- that we can all be extremely proud of him - and rest assured - —— that Myles Corcoran will always be remembered - as a coppers copper - and a very - very - special gentleman - indeed. Thank you. Paul Batey Friend and colleague.