Hero police officers save man who was cutting his own throat

Dec 24, 2023

'There was just blood everywhere. I could see he’d slashed his stomach, his wrists, his neck'

We have more newsletters

A officer who tackled a man who was trying to cut his own throat has been praised for his bravery.

PC Ross McClean leapt forward and grabbed the man's hands as he began to cut his throat with a shard of glass. As the officer grappled with the man, the glass cut into his own hands.

Three other officers then joined in a desperate struggle with the "large" man, who had slashed his stomach, his wrists and his neck. Doctors later said that the officers had prevented the man from cutting his cutting his carotid artery, which would have killed him.

READ MORE: Grimsby gardener 'could lose her business' because of changes to bus routes

All four officers – PC McClean, PC Mia Bayar, PC Paula West and PC Debbie Tipper – have now won Humberside Police and Federation Bravery Awards. They will join colleagues from across the force area in being celebrated at an inaugural awards event on June 15.

Police received a call from on August 13, 2022, in which a man whispered down the line: "Come and help me". When PC McClean and PC Bayar arrived at his address, they saw the man holding a broken shard of mirror glass in his hand.

The man immediately raised the glass to his neck and began to cut his own throat. PC McClean leapt forward and took hold of both the man's hands. Both men fell to the floor.

The man made a determined effort to cause serious harm to himself and the glass cut PC McClean. PC Bayar requested urgent assistance and used her baton to try to force the man to let go of the glass. PC West and PC Tipper, who had been on patrol nearby, then arrived. PC West said: "We didn't know which house we were going to, and then this guy ran out and said, ‘You need to get upstairs now’. So I just ran in this house, Debbie was behind me.

"We went upstairs and there was the victim on the floor. There was just blood everywhere. I could see he’d slashed his stomach, his wrists, his neck, and Ross had got slashed too. "He was kicking and fighting, so Debbie lay on his legs and I tried to pull his left arm away. Then I drew my baton and struck him on his left shoulder to stop him from reaching for his hand. He managed to get his right hand from underneath Ross's foot and started stabbing himself again, so I used my baton as a block. Then I managed to smash the piece of mirror down with my baton to make it smaller. "I used my PAVA spray and it shocked him enough that he opened his hand and I managed to get the rest of the glass out of his hand. And then we cuffed him. I think it was about six or seven minutes that we were fighting with him – probably the longest seven minutes of my life."

Medical professionals said that the brave actions of the officers prevented the man from cutting his carotid artery by just 2mm, which would have resulted in his death. The man was interviewed on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker, and expressed his extreme regret, adding that he had only wanted to harm himself.

After taking into account the wishes of PC McClean, the man was released with no further action and received the relevant supportive treatment. All four officers made a full recovery and have since returned to work.

PC West said she had been "blown away" by receiving a bravery award. She added: "You just go to work and you do the best that you can. Patrol don't usually get thanks for doing our job. We’re always the first ones there and the last ones to go.

"A lot of times we go to things and we’re faced with death, and there's nothing you can do about it. But on that occasion, we did it."

Lee Sims, who chairs the Humberside Police Federation, said: "Ross, Mia, Paula and Debbie were faced with an unexpectedly harrowing situation and, without fear for their own safety, they saved this man's life … at no small risk to themselves.

"I commend the officers for their quick thinking and courageous actions. They went towards the danger that day and in a matter of dynamic minutes worked incredibly well as a team to achieve the right result. We are very proud of them all. They are worthy winners of one of our awards."

The four officers will attend the first Humberside Police and Federation Bravery Awards on Thursday June 15. At the event, a winner will be announced who will travel to London for the National Police Federation Bravery Awards in July. The lead sponsor for the Awards is The Northern Police Healthcare Scheme.