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”.

Can you help?
We need your help to ensure that we can continue to bring you the stories, blogs and videos which matter.
One of our many aims is to act as a voice for the emergency services, armed forces and the healthcare sector. Our in-house team of reporters are former emergency services and armed forces personnel.
We are incredibly proud to be able to share the true heroism of our former colleagues with our much-valued civilian readers and followers.
But with ad income continually fluctuating, we need your help so that we can carry on bringing you the stories which many sections of the mainstream media ignore.
You can pledge a one-off payment, a monthly payment or a yearly amount by clicking HERE (PayPal processes all payments).
TOP VIDEO: