A white counter-protester who went viral after being carried to safety by a Black Lives Matter demonstrator during clashes with far-right extremists is a retired police detective, the force confirmed Thursday.
Bryn Male, 55, was photographed with a bloodied head as he was saved from a mob attack in London by martial artist Patrick Hutchinson, who feared the rival protester was about to be killed in Saturday’s melee.
Now police officials have confirmed that Male — thought to be part of a group trying to save statues from anti-racism protesters — was a detective until his retirement in September 2014.
“We can confirm Bryn Male worked in the London area as a police officer for British Transport Police, latterly as a Detective Constable,” the force told The Post Thursday.
A source told the Sun that Male — a devoted Millwall FC soccer fan — was “very well known in the force” and “always made his opinions clear.”
“I think some people would find it unbelievable that a former officer was taking part in those sort of marches,” the source said of the fracas that included members of far-right groups, including Britain First.
Protester Patrick Hutchinson carries an injured counter-protester to safety near the Waterloo station during a Black Lives Matter protest.REUTERS“If he was still a serving officer, he would have faced severe consequences for being there.”
“Even as a former officer, it sends out a terrible message,” the source told the UK paper.
However, the insider insisted that “people that knew him won’t be shocked,” saying he was “not a nice person.”
More than 100 people were arrested and 23 officers were injured in the violence Saturday that Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemned as “racist thuggery.”
