Officers awarded for arresting armed drug dealer

Two police officers who tackled a suspect, as he stabbed at one of them with a screwdriver, have been given awards for their bravery.

PC Chris Walker and PC Lewis Hand were on patrol in Warrington in June 2024 when a CCTV operator alerted them to a man who was suspected to be selling drugs.

When the officers approached the suspect, he became agitated and started to punch and stab at PC Walker four times with a screwdriver.

"He hit the very top of my body armour; five millimetres above that and it would have gone under my throat, near the clavicle," PC Walker said.

The man continued to aggressively fight both officers, with the incident spilling onto a main road.

PC Walker added: "We were lying in the road and the bus stopped two feet from us, because it had come over the brow of the hill, not seen us and slammed on the brakes."

The man showed so much resistance that he was able to stand up again and fight, the officers said.

"We were starting to get really tired, because we've been fighting in body armour, taken by surprise. We're having to rely on our level of fitness, and that's when Lewis gets the second cuff on," PC Walker said.

"We could hear the sirens start to come, getting louder and louder, and all we were thinking was: 'Get here, get here, get here'. When you hear the sirens, and your mates are coming, it's everything."

The backup officers arrived at the scene and secured the suspect in the back of a police van.

In the man's backpack, officers found knives, scissors, screwdrivers and items adapted to be weapons, including a five-inch blade attached to a pen.

The man was also found in possession of crack cocaine and heroin, and he had two screw-drivers.

Despite such traumatic events, the officers carried on with their duties and PC Hand even made a further arrest for burglary later in the shift.

In court, the offender pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply crack cocaine and heroin, possession of a bladed article in public, assaulting an emergency worker and obstructing a police officer. He received a 36-month prison sentence.

Cheshire Police Federation Chair Jamie Thompson said: 'What incredible courage our colleagues showed. Despite the extreme danger they were in, Chris and Lewis showed outstanding composure and courage in restraining and arresting this violent suspect'.

PC Walker and PC Hand will attend the Cheshire Police Federation Bravery Awards later this month.

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