A Thames Valley Police dog-handler who single-handedly detained a violent man after he assaulted two paramedics and prevented a potential kidnapping has won a Thames Valley Police Federation Bravery Award.
PC Wayne Mills and PD ‘Cody’ were called to assist an ambulance crew who called in to report they had been punched and assaulted by the man in a rural part of Woodstock, near Oxford.
During the attack on the paramedics, the male in question punched one of them while grappling with the other.
By the time PC Mills had arrived, the suspect had run off into a nearby property as the paramedics waited outside for police assistance.
As PC Mills was talking to the two medics, the suspect run out of the property where he was hiding and headed straight towards the officer.
The suspect immediately unleashed a volley of punches towards the officer as the startled paramedics helped the suspects family to seek refuge in the back of their ambulance.
As the suspect continued to attack PC Mills, the officer tried to defend himself initially using his PAVA spray, but when this did not affect the violent male, the police officer then deployed his police baton.
Both the PAVA and the baton strikes had little effect on the male who continued to rain down punches on the officer.
PC Mills then fetched PD Cody from the back of his vehicle in a bid to get the man under control.
However, the man leapt into the ambulance and began to attempt to drive it away.
PC Mills quickly returned PD Cody to his vehicle to prevent any injury occurring to the dog, before he managed to pull the suspect from the ambulance.
After a further struggle PC Mills managed to detain and cuff the man.
PC Mills said there was no other option than to ensure the man was restrained, given how dangerous the situation was and how aggressive the man had been.
He said:
“I don’t think you overly think about your own safety. It’s not something that comes to the forefront of your mind.
“He was so dangerously out of control; he could not be allowed to either get away in the ambulance or on foot because of the aggression and violence he was using. He had to be detained.
“I was just doing my job. I would have expected the majority of police officers to have done the same. Doing nothing was not an option; put it that way.”
Thames Valley Police Federation chairman Craig O’Leary said the situation PC Mills had found himself back in September 2017 had been incredibly dangerous.
“PC Mills was on his own with no back up to assist at that time so to do what he did to protect this family from potentially being kidnapped was incredibly brave,” he said.
“This man was extremely aggressive, and there was a real threat to his, the paramedics’ and the public’s safety.
“We are grateful to him for keeping our communities safe and incredibly proud of him as a person and as a Thames Valley Police Officer.”
PC Mills will attend an Awards Ceremony in the Thames Valley Policing area on Thursday 5 March where an overall winner will be announced.
The awards are in association with JRM Mortgage Solutions.
The hashtag for the event is #TVPFedBravery.
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