When you are the boss of one of the largest police forces in the UK, spending time with the men and women who are on the front line can provide an invaluable insight into some of the challenges they face during these testing times.
So when the Chief Constable of West Midlands Police, Dave Thomson, joined his officers on a shift, responding to 999 calls, there was little doubt that he would ‘get stuck in’ if needed.
And it wasn’t long before CC Thomson found himself at the thick of it.
During one incident, the top boss ended up in a canal as he chased after a suspect.
There was no way that this senior officer was going to let a suspect give his officers the slip.
So he did what any of his brave officers would do; ended up ‘taking one for the team’ by entering a murky canal in the pursuit of law and order.
In a tweet, CC Thompson said:
“They say Birmingham has more canals than Venice.
“I don’t know about that, but tonight I had a little swim [in] ours tonight.
“Thank you @LadywoodWMP”.

Thankfully, other than getting slightly wet, the boss of West Midlands Police was not injured.
@LadywoodWMP responded by tweeting:
“Thank you for coming out with the team this evening Sir (and still with us currently). Good arrests of 3 violent offenders, stolen property and weapons seized! Worth the lil dip to cool off”.

Other officers were quick to jump on the banter wagon.
@WMP Traffic tweeted to say: “Can’t wait to see this body cam footage.”

Tony Latham added: “Does the chief have to buy cakes as he has technically damaged police property….#Greggs get a truck ready…..respect to the chief for supporting the troops”.

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