Strangled police officer 'struggled to breathe'

A police officer has described the moment he was punched, pinned to the ground and strangled as he tried to arrest a man in Middlesbrough.

Cleveland Police said the attacker was one of three men who have been jailed in the last seven days for three separate assaults on its officers.

One of the officers, whose identity is being kept anonymous, said during an arrest he was punched twice, pinned to the ground and strangled.

"I was choking as his hands were around my neck and I was struggling to breathe," he said.

"At that point it was just about survival. It was fight or flight and I had no choice but to fight."

Craig Thompson, 46, was responsible for the attack which was carried out when the officer attempted to arrest him in connection with a commercial burglary last June.

The force said over the last year there had been 762 assaults on its officers and the level of violence was getting more extreme.

Temporary Ch Insp Greg Owens said officers "have been stabbed, had cars driven at them, as well as been punched, spat at and bitten".

He said the level of violence was "completely unacceptable" as officers were simply doing their job.

William Cash, 38, received a 30-month sentence after he admitted assaulting and strangling another Middlesbrough response officer in the early hours of Boxing Day 2024.

A third man, 45-year-old Darren McGee, received a 45-month sentence for assaulting a police officer investigating criminal damage.

The response officer attacked by Thompson said officers often run into danger "but when I said goodbye to my family in the morning, I had no idea what was to come".

"That helpless feeling of being strangled will stay with me for the rest of my life."

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