2024 POLICE BRAVERY AWARDS
AVON AND SOMERSET Two officers put themselves in danger to help a distressed man on a busy motorway, the M5 southbound carriageway on the Avonmouth Bridge. PS Nick Dalrymple (top right), a dog handler based at the force’s Wilfred Fuller Operational Centre, was first on the scene and as he drove onto the bridge, he was initially unable to see the pedestrian due to the dark conditions.
As he approached the midway
stage, at the bridge’s highest point, he saw a man standing between lanes one and two. Due to it being a Bank Holiday, the motorway was still busy with a heavy flow of articulated lorries and other vehicles travelling at significant speeds.
He could see the man was in distress and was making a clear
attempt to walk out in front of the oncoming vehicles. He immediately activated his emergency lighting and sirens and positioned his vehicle across the carriageway to slow the traffic down, but it had little effect. PS Dalrymple didn’t have time to put on his florescent PPE
due to the escalating risk and the imminent danger the man was in, so he got out of his vehicle and attempted to engage with him. The man didn’t respond but ran towards the officer and the oncoming traffic, with motorists breaking sharply to avoid hitting him.
It was at this point off-duty officer PC Mitchell Raymond arrived on the scene. PC Raymond, who was driving home from work and saw the man in the middle of the live carriageway, parked his private vehicle on the hard shoulder and quickly grabbed his body armour from the boot. Due to the continuing danger the man was in, as well as the
clear risks to other members of the public using the motorway, PC Raymond deployed his PAVA spray, and the man was brought to safety while further police resources arrived at the scene. The individual was then able to get the medical help and support he needed.
CAMBRIDGESHIRE PS Jamie Cooper demonstrated remarkable courage and quick thinking in a life-threatening situation whilst responding to a call regarding a distressed individual contemplating suicide. Police received a call from a member of the public
concerned about his friend, who had left a letter at his home saying he was going to take his own life. Officers were dispatched and started looking for the missing individual, and enquiries were made by other officers. It was thought he may have gone to a well-known bridge in Peterborough after enquiries were made with a local taxi firm.
PS Cooper, who was single crewed, attended this location and the vicinity of the bridge in search of the missing individual who there was significant concern for by this time. PS Cooper scoured the area and found the man in a highly distressed state stood on the bridge, 20 feet above the fast flowing, deep, wide river. He was holding a ligature and was attempting to climb over the railing. PS Cooper immediately ran towards the man, confronting him face on. As he got closer he could also see the individual had a large samurai sword. Springing into action, he grappled with the man who was significantly larger, and successfully removed the sword from the individual’s grasp, avoiding any further self-harm, before cutting the ligature off from around his neck. PS Cooper then called for assistance from his colleagues and supported and calmed the still frenzied individual down for several minutes until his backup arrived.
CHESHIRE
PC Aaron Jackson, who was off duty, came to the rescue of a member of the public being chased and threatened by two armed men.
An 18-year-old was being chased by two males in dark clothing, one wearing a balaclava demanding that he hand over his wallet. The victim had started to run just as PC Jackson was driving past and noticed the man frantically waving whilst being pursued by the two men. Without regard for his own safety, he stopped his private vehicle, jumped out of his car and was informed immediately by the victim the two men had weapons.
Armed or not, he grabbed the larger of the two men, at which point the other assailant raised a crowbar and demanded ‘let go of my mate or I’ll hit you with this’.
PC Jackson used his experience and training to disarm the man whilst still maintaining a strong grip on the larger individual. Despite the continued efforts of the men to escape, which involved spitting at PC Jackson, he was able to and detain the two would-be violent robbers and keep control of them until on- duty response officers, called by a member of the public, arrived on the scene and arrested the assailants.
CLEVELAND PCs Holly Grey, Sam Handley, Maverick Reddington, Rachael Dack, Cara Crosby and two officers who wish to remain anonymous contained an armed individual in a fast-moving incident that left three of them with knife wounds.
PCs Grey and Handley were first on scene to a call of concern for safety that soon escalated into violence, where PC Handley was subject to a frenzied attack and PC Grey was stabbed in the leg and took a slash wound to her hand. The individual was in a living room with his parents, and previous
17 | POLICE | JUNE | 2024
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