William Crouch, 18, nominated for Pride of Australia over act of supermarket carpark bravery

AS the son of a police officer and with ambitions to join the force, William Crouch knew he could not sit idle as he watched a man knock a 93-year-old woman over in a supermarket carpark.

AS the son of a police officer and with ambitions to join the force, William Crouch knew he could not sit idle as he watched a man knock a 93-year-old woman over in a supermarket carpark.

“I was sitting in my car when I saw him walking through the carpark and then he just started sprinting and he ran straight through this old lady,” Mr Crouch, 18, said.

“He put both hands on her back and pushed her over her walking frame.

“There was nobody else around at the time and I can just remember thinking about what my dad, who is a police officer, would do.”

The South Plympton resident said the man, who fell to the ground after he hit the walking frame, made a second attempt to attack the old woman.

“I initially rushed to the old lady, but when I saw him move to attack her, I went over to restrain him,” he said.

“I held him down while my girlfriend called the cops — the whole thing took about 15 minutes.”

The South Plympton resident was recommended for a police award by Sturt Police after the incident last September.

Ten months later, the act of bravery has been recognised with a nomination for the Pride of Australia Medal.

Although he is completing a carpentry apprenticeship, Mr Crouch said his heart is set on joining his father, Peter, in the police force.

Sergeant Peter Crouch said his son showed remarkable composure and maturity during the incident.

“In the days that followed he did not seem uptight and he was not boasting about what he had done either,” Sgt Crouch said.