BRAVERY AWARDS
DURHAM
Three Durham Constabulary officers disarmed a gunman firing at them. Authorised firearm officers Sergeant Simon Hogg, PC Paul Cowling – who has since retired – and a third PC we are unable to name – showed incredible courage to bring the incident to a peaceful conclusion. All three said it was the most dangerous job they have encountered in policing. Durham Police Federation Chair Andy Jackson said the officers’ professionalism and incredible bravery was the only reason the situation ended without tragedy. “These officers came under repeated fire from this gunman. They very easily could have been, at the very least, seriously injured,” he said.
DYFED POWYS
PC Ian Chattun and Temporary Sergeant Katy Evans ran into the sea to rescue a woman facing a mental health crisis. The woman had a recent history of self-harm and was found at the North Beach area of Aberystwyth. They attempted to negotiate with her, but she ran back into the sea. Both officers selflessly entered the water in full uniform, including PPE and body armour. In their attempts to bring her back to safety, both officers were completely submerged in the water. Roger Webb, Secretary of Dyfed Powys Police Federation, said: “This was a selfless act of bravery by both police officers as well as members of the public who undoubtedly saved a vulnerable young person’s life.”
GLOUCESTERSHIRE
PCs Sarah Crawford and Lucy Howard responded to a call from a distressed woman who said she couldn’t wake up her husband and their 15-year-old son. Officers could smell gas coming from the family home. A boiler had leaked and set off a small explosion. The officers were advised by control to get out, but they both decided to stay and help. The teenager had stopped breathing, so PC Crawford administered CPR and dragged him to safety. PC Howard continued to provide first aid to the
father until paramedics arrived. Both father and son made a full recovery. Gloucestershire Police Federation Chair Steve James said: “This incident would have proved to be fatal if it wasn’t for the officers’ intervention.”
GMP
Husband and wife PCs Jack and Joanna Wilber went to the aid of a woman outside their home who was being attacked by a gang of youths. During the melee Jack was stabbed twice with what was either a screwdriver or a knife, receiving deep wounds and a broken rib. He managed to detain one of the youths, but the others attacked Joanna who was pregnant. All the suspects were arrested, and Jack and Joanna received hospital treatment but were thankfully discharged a short time afterwards.
Greater Manchester Police Federation Chair Stu Berry said: “This incident really proves that GMP officers are never off duty. Jack and Joanna realised that this woman was clearly in trouble and in the best traditions of policing ran towards the danger to protect her.”
GWENT
Five Gwent Police officers faced a man barricaded into a flat with a can of petrol and were attacked by various weapons including a machete-type knife and a spear. PCs Lloyd Read, Paul Taylor, Peter Whittington, Sarah Breakspear and Craig Bracegirdle faced a “nightmare situation”, according to their Federation Chair Maria Henry. The occupant threw petrol at the officers and barricaded himself in the kitchen. He threw objects and lunged at them with a knife or spear-type implement, trying to attack them around their shields. PC Whittington grabbed hold of the man’s arm as he swung the machete and disarmed him, allowing the other officers to handcuff him. The attacker was arrested and then sectioned.
PC Joshua Darton HERTFORDSHIRE
PC Joshua Darton rescued a young and vulnerable missing woman who was found in a river clinging to a steep bank in the early hours of the morning. Having pulled her from the water, he carried her in a fireman’s lift for around a mile across marshland to ensure she could receive medical treatment since the area was only accessible on foot. “Joshua acted in the finest traditions of policing,” says Geoff Bardell, the chair of Hertfordshire Police Federation who put the officer forward for the award, “He may have only been young in service but he instinctively acted to save a complete stranger’s life.”
HAMPSHIRE
PC Christi Hill and her partner PC Tristan Parsons were off duty when they saw a man committing a burglary in a salon. He had smashed his way in using a golf club. The officers attempted to detain the man who, when they arrived, was threatening members of the public with the golf club. They ended up rolling around in glass and the assailant stabbed PC Hill in the finger with a hypodermic needle, shouting that he was ‘infected with HIV’. Hampshire Police Federation Chair Zoe Wakefield said: “Christi and Tristan had no personal protective kit and no immediate recourse to back-up so to stop this incident from becoming much worse is a real credit to them.”
OCTOBER 2020 | POLICE | 21
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