WRPS officer awarded medal for standing up against hatchet-wielding suspect

A local police officer was given an award for bravery for his conduct in standing up to a suspect wielding a hatchet in Kitchener.

Constable Matthew Cabral of the Waterloo Regional Police Service was presented with the Ontario Medal for Police Bravery in a ceremony on Monday afternoon.

On Feb. 5, Cabral was on patrol when a driver was speeding away from his police cruiser, ran a red light, and crashed into another car at Strasburg Road and Block Line Road in Kitchener.

Police said the suspect then threatened to fight Cabral, who fired his stun gun twice, but the suspect did not go down.

According to officials, the man tried to grab Cabral’s gun, and then went back to his vehicle and came out with a hatchet.

But Cabral stood his ground and pulled his gun “while keeping the public safe in a busy intersection.”

The suspect was eventually put into cuffs when a second officer arrived to help.

A statement from the office of Solicitor General Michael Kerzner read “Cabral’s restraint, quick thinking and courage under pressure protected the community during a dangerous and unpredictable encounter.”

Cabral was presented the medal by Kerzner, in a ceremony with Edith Dumont, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario.

The ceremony saw 15 police officers and nine firefighters honoured with the Ontario Medal for Police Bravery, or the Ontario Medal for Firefighter Bravery.