No LAPD blues as boxers do WMP proud

On Saturday the West Midlands Police Boxing Team followed some of the biggest names in British boxing by stepping through the ropes stateside.

The WMP team suffered an overall defeat to the LAPD but were unanimous in feeling proud of their achievements. The proceedings ended on a high courtesy of PC Claire Hankinson’s victory in the main event.

“I could not be any prouder of each and every one of the fighters,” said PC PC Sunil Bedi. “They fought like lions and standing with them and singing the national anthem was unanimously one of the proudest moments of our lives.”

“Travelling thousands of miles and taking on the LAPD in their backyard was always going to be a tough task. But we were warriors and in truth I don’t think some of the judge’s scoring went in our favour!”

Like all of the most iconic boxing bouts there is already a rematch in the pipeline, with WMP throwing down the gauntlet and inviting our American colleagues to set foot on British soil.

Bedi added: “The LAPD were fantastic. Although we fought like warriors in the ring, outside of it they couldn’t have been more accommodating. We may be separated by an ocean, have different uniform and accents but we are united by our desire to maintain law and order. We are a band of brothers and that was evident during our trip.”

The team wanted to pay special thanks to Cassie Owen who live streamed the fights on Facebook and also to PC Aaron Behan who did a lot of the ground work for the event.

You can read more about the trip and see some photos and videos of the team stateside via their Twitter account and Facebook page.

Bedi, a force response officer in Wolverhampton and qualified coach helped set up the team alongside Sergeant Richard Churchill, a neighbourhood sergeant in Walsall, after receiving the support of Chief Superintendent Mike O’Hara.

If you’d like to join the team or support future trips please contact PC Sunil Bedi or PC Aaron Behan.