PC Wienand, or “PC Pants” as his colleagues call him, was asleep in bed when he heard loud banging outside his bedroom window in Barnes.
When the noise began at 3.30am on May 31, 2019, he had only had a few hours sleep after finishing his shift at 11.30pm the night before.
His girlfriend at the time looked outside the window to find four masked men taking it in turns to smash the bulletproof window of the jewellery store below his flat.
After she told PC Wienand to do something to help, he wasted no time in going outside to stop them – not even to get dressed.
PC Wienand, who moved to London from South Africa a few years ago, told the Richmond and Twickenham Times: “I woke up super groggy and not knowing what was happening, and then I looked outside and the men looked up at me right in the eye.
“They were fully clothed in black with balaclavas, helmets and gloves and they had a pickaxe.
“The building was shaking as the bulletproof glass was resisting and the panic started building in me when I realised that our door was the one next to the jewellers and they might have thought this was another way in.
“I got scared, and when I get scared, I get angry and fight or flee kicked in.
“I thought ‘screw it’, and ran down the stairs in my boxer shorts before yelling at them in African – my second language.
“I thought it might frighten them – along with my bare chest, pasty white body and lots of hair.
“One of the guys picked up the pickaxe and I thought they were going to come and hit me in the head with it so I thought my only chance was to run at them.
“So I did, screaming, and yelling to my Mrs to call the police.
“The guy pegged the pickaxe at my head and I jumped left – and thankfully I did because it missed me very narrowly and I would have been dead if it had have.”
PC Wienand then picked up the pickaxe and chased the masked-men off with it.
He explained that there were five men in total – one in a car with the boot open, two on mopeds and the others trying to smash the glass.
PC Wienand said: “When I chased them they jumped and split off to go into different directions.
“I was actually running barefoot over all the bulletproof glass that they’d shattered but I didn’t feel the pain at the time because my adrenaline was pumping.
“It wasn’t the smartest thing to do and I was very new in the police at the time.
“But, I’d do it again because when you are scared you go to base instincts and I’m a fighter.
“A lot of people did nothing and just watched and my colleagues said they wouldn’t have done anything – but again, I’d definitely still do it again.
“If a predator smells fear then you become the prey.”
On-duty police officers arrived on scene and PC Wienand, who usually works in the Hammersmith area, gave them the “pull over” signal which he learnt during his police training.
He told them what had happened and cars went chasing after the mopeds while some officers stayed with him to guard the crime scene and take statements.
He says the suspects are still out there and were “unfortunately” never caught.
PC Wienand added: “Ideally next time this happens I’d like to be in uniform with a baton and a little bit of pepper spray.
“I don’t live at the address anymore so I’m not actually worried though.
“I’m not sure if its heroic, probably stupid more than anything – and my colleagues give me so much hassle it’s not even funny.
“It’s all good natured banter.”
PC Wienand’s heroic help during the incident was nominated for a 2020 Police Bravery Award which took place on October 12 this year after being postponed due to the pandemic.
Although he didn’t win, he was one of 93 nominees from 42 forces across England and Wales.
His granny was the one who was most proud of his achievement.
PC Wienand said: “I was overjoyed to be nominated and if anything it was my granny who was happiest.
“She’s 81 and she would go down to her local coffee shop and tell everyone that it was her grandson that stopped the masked men on Barnes High Street.
“I did always want her to be proud of me and that’s happened.”
And, it wasn’t just PC Wienand’s granny who was proud of his heroic nature.
He added: “At the awards, the Met Police deputy commissioner who is really high up said to me, ‘are you Pants Man?’ “I was like oh my gosh this person is so many ranks above me and he’s calling me Pants Man.
“My colleagues use that name, PC Pants or Captain Underpants – and a few of them do call me a hero.
“It’s all part of why I became a police officer though – to help people.
“And, that isn’t even the half of it, I’ve had someone try to rob me on my way to work who then chased me to the police station and a guy try to stab me and set me on fire.”
The Metropolitan Police released a statement at the time of the incident.
It said: “ A 29-year-old officer was off-duty when he was awoken by a disturbance near his home in Barnes High Street, SW13, at about 03:30hrs on Friday, 31 May.
“He realised a jeweller’s shop window had been smashed and that suspects were attempting to break in.
“Acting instantly, he ran out into the street in just his boxers - he challenged them and a pick axe was thrown at him.
“It narrowly missed him and he picked it up and ran at the suspects to stop them further breaking into the shop.
“The suspects managed to escape on mopeds but left behind a number of weapons including a pick-axe, sledgehammer and a chisel.
“The shop window was damaged but the suspects did not manage to break in and steal any property.
“The officer cut his foot on broken glass but was not otherwise injured.”
Commander Sally Benatar from the South West Borough Command Unit said at the time: “The bravery of this officer undoubtedly stopped the suspects from stealing anything from the premises.
“He is a brand new officer, merely days into his role as a PC and he should be very proud of his actions.
“I have spoken to him today to thank him for his outstanding efforts.
“This morning’s events go to show that police officers are never off-duty and will always go above and beyond to help their community.”
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