When you wear the badge of a police officer, a random day at work can get you a bullet or a spot in the limelight - and Police Sergeant Justin Spiteri, who was recently presented with the Police Officer of the Year award, has experienced both.

In his case, it was two particular occasions that caught the attention of the police force management. Speaking to The Malta Independent, Sergeant Spiteri recalled these two occasions - during one of which he was shot in the leg.

The first incident was in March last year.

"We received a complaint that a woman and a man were arguing in a house. The woman wanted him out of the residence but instead he had barricaded himself inside, threatening that he would harm her or even blow up the house with gas cylinders."

The police had managed to get into the house and evacuate the woman, but the man had barricaded himself in the bedroom. The Civil Protection Department was called to the scene to remove any material that could be used as explosive.

"We knew he was armed with a shotgun because there were a number of police officers who had been sent to access the house from another residence and who could see the weapon clearly from the window. The negotiations went on for about three hours but with little success."

At one point, the police officers who had been sent to provide visual help from the other residence noticed that the man had put down his shotgun. "We told the man we were going in, and so we did."

The man had barricaded the room with a large wardrobe. When the police forced the door open, the man fell on his back. Sgt Spiteri went in with a taser gun followed by some of his fellow officers

"Once inside, I realised that the man was holding another small pistol. It was hidden from sight and that is why the police officers in the other residence could not see it."

The two men were pointing their weapons at each other: one was holding a harmless taser gun and the other an armed pistol. "I decided to point my taser away from the man. I did not want to hurt him, I just wanted to scare him, said Sgt Spiteri."

When Sgt Spiteri tasered him, the man, still on his back, pointed the gun towards the other police officers and Sgt Spiteri instinctively decided to jump on him.

"I jumped on him with my knees resting on his body. Then I tried to force the weapon out of his hand and it was at that point during the struggle, that the man fired a shot."

The bullet went right into Sgt Spiteri's knee, above his knee cap. The man who fired the shot suffered burns to his face.

"It was painful, of course. But at such times the adrenaline can work miracles. It was after the whole incident that I started to feel the pain. I was very lucky that the bullet was stuck in the muscle so did not hit any arteries."

Hours later, St Spiteri underwent surgery to remove the bullet. However, once this had been accomplished, he had to face a bigger obstacle when it emerged that the man had an infectious disease. "Doctors were concerned because blood from the man's face had come into contact with mine. So even after the successful operation, I went through six months of constant medical tests.

"My major concern was how I was going to tell my wife. The first thing I did was to call my father. Then I decided to call my wife and my mother. That was most terrifying," he explained with a sigh of relief.

As he recovered from the incident, Sgt Spiteri tried his best to rest, but his recuperation was interrupted. In May that same year, he was involved in another case which could have ended up in tragedy, were it not for his intervention.

"It was a Saturday. I remember I had woken up late, at around 9am. From the window I could hear an argument erupting in the same street as mine. I couldn't hear exactly what was going on, but I heard the words I will shoot you. Those were the only words I needed to hear."

Sgt Spiteri got out of bed and went to look out over the balcony and saw two men, one carrying a metal rod and the other one pointing a pistol. He called his wife to contact the Rapid Intervention Unit while he went to get his handcuffs and pepper spray. As he approached the men, Sgt Spiteri realised they were his neighbours.

"I moved slowly and managed to grab the man who was carrying a pistol by the back. I told him not to do anything foolish and he released his weapon there and then."

The argument stopped and the two people involved are still grateful for his intervention.

These two incidents ended on a good note only because Sgt Spiteri was sufficiently trained to deal with such situations. "Training is vital. Without training I could have harmed myself more or injured others."

One thing he realised from these two events is the importance of police officers carrying body cams. So far, the police force has not invested in these cameras which could make life much easier for officers on duty.

Police sergeant Justin Spiteri was awarded the Police of the Year award for his bravery. It was presented to him at a ceremony presided over by Police Commissioner Lawrence Cutajar and Internal Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela.