Policeman’s ‘killer brought back to life by doctors in hospital’
It comes as police ‘painstakingly’ search four crime scenes in connection with the killing.
Matt Ratana’s suspected killer has reportedly had to be ‘revived in hospital’ and remains in a critical condition, as four sites connected to the shooting are searched by police.
The 23-year-old suspect, who allegedly shot the sergeant and himself while handcuffed, had ‘zero chance’ of being well enough to talk to detectives yesterday, sources told the Sun.
His hospital bed is being kept under constant police guard and medics have already had to bring him back from the brink of death, according to the paper.
It comes as police ‘painstakingly’ search four crime scenes in connection with the killing, including the custody suite where the incident unfolded at about 2.15am on Friday.
On National Police Memorial Day, tributes have continued to pour in for the much-loved sergeant, who was originally from New Zealand and a keen rugby coach.
An officer, who said he was covering what would have been Sgt Ratana’s shift today, posted a picture of a rugby shirt on Twitter with the caption: ‘Covering #SgtMattRatana today. He’d have been day shift with us.
‘I was gonna repay him for breakfast he got me last week… after he tackled me in the suite and said “Come on XL, bring it in, you need a custody cuddle!’
Giving an investigation update, Metropolitan Police deputy assistant commissioner Stuart Cundy said Sgt Ratana’s death had marked a ‘dark and sad day for the police family’.
He added: ‘Everyone working on this investigation, from the forensic specialists to the local officers holding the cordons, does so with a heavy heart but a determination to find justice for our colleague and his family.’
Forensic searches are being carried out in an area of London Road, Pollards Hill, Norbury, where the suspect was initially arrested by officers for possession of ammunition and possession of class B drugs.
Other searches are taking place at an address on Southbrook Road, also in Norbury, and at a second address on Park Road, Banstead in Surrey, where local officers from Surrey Police are helping.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which attended the scene after the shooting, said the suspect had been taken into the building and sat in a holding area in the custody suite, then opened fire while still in handcuffs as officers prepared to search him with a metal detector.
He had earlier been arrested by regular officers following a stop and search, then handcuffed behind his back before being taken to the station in a police vehicle.
The suspect was reportedly known to counter-terror officers but police have stressed the case is not being treated as terror-related.
It comes as two one minute silences took place on Sunday morning in memory of the popular police sergeant, who also volunteered as a rugby coach.
The vice-chairman of East Grinstead Rugby Club, Matt Marriott, said their former head coach was a ‘truly remarkable fellow’.
He told BBC Breakfast: ‘I’ve actually never met anybody quite like Matt, he must have been an incredible policeman. His attention to detail and his strive for perfection, his work ethic, just blew all of us away.’
He added: ‘He wasn’t just a coach to the players. He was a role model, a mentor, and often actually a father figure. We’re going to mourn him as a family member. He’s left a big hole, to be honest.’
The tributes have been given extra poignancy because today is the annual National Police Memorial Day (NPMD), honouring those who have lost their lives on duty.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick, who laid a wreath at the National Police Memorial in central London as part of commemorations, said she ‘hadn’t been surprised at all’ by the multiple tributes paid to Sgt Ratana.
‘Matt was an extraordinary person,’ she said. ‘(He was) a real larger-than-life character, so many people knew him. He had a wonderful personality and he was very good at his job.’
Sgt Ratana, 54, was originally from New Zealand and joined the Met in 1991. He leaves behind a partner and a grown-up son.
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