Avon and Somerset Police officers nominated for national bravery award

Officers from Avon and Somerset Police who confronted a hammer-wielding man have been nominated for a prestigious Police Bravery Award.

PCs Clare Davies, Yasmin Kingdon, Benjamin Schofield and Emma Sipson have been nominated for an award at the 24th Police Bravery Awards in London on Thursday 18 July. The awards are held by the Police Federation of England and Wales and sponsored by Police Mutual to recognise police officers who perform outstanding acts of bravery while on or off duty.

PCs Davies, Kingdon, Schofield and Sipson responded to reports of a man described as swinging a hammer wildly in the air in the street. Unknown to them, the man had already hit a member of the public on the head with the hammer and they were worried that he might attack people leaving nearby pubs.

They tried to speak with him to de-escalate the situation, but he didn’t respond and got more agitated. There was limited cover to protect the officers, so they continued to talk to him, but he refused to listen and became angrier. After both Taser and Pava failed, the man threw the hammer with full force at PC Davies, narrowly missing her head. He then tried to punch PC Schofield, as PC Davies Tasered his legs while PC Kingdon deployed the Pava. Together they brought the man down and he was safely detained.

John Perks, Chief Executive Officer of Police Mutual, said: “Police Mutual is very proud to be supporting the Police Bravery Awards for the 11th consecutive year.  To all of you who have been nominated, be rightly proud of yourselves and your achievements. When it mattered most, you stepped up. You proved that your commitment to keeping the public safe did not waver, even when tested in the most trying of circumstances. At Police Mutual, my colleagues and I are deeply honoured to be able to show our appreciation for your bravery in keeping us safe.  We hope that we can continue to play our part in helping improve the lives of the police family.”

Andy Roebuck, Chair of Avon and Somerset Police Federation, said: “The bravery and professionalism shown by these officers went above and beyond the normal call of duty. They showed exceptional bravery in incredibly dangerous circumstances. We are very proud of their outstanding actions and how determined they were in the protection of the public”.