Response officers managed to save a distressed woman’s life after she had fallen into the River Trent and was travelling downstream at speed.
In March this year, officers attended reports that a woman, in her 30s, had fallen into the river near Newark and immediately started a search.
After locating some clothing and a mobile phone, they carried out an extensive search of the river by torchlight and spotted a woman struggling in the water.
After several minutes of attempting to rescue her with a water line, PC Oliver Wood managed to position himself at the very edge of the river and reach out and take her hand, pulling her to safety.
PC Wood then administered first aid, wrapped her in his own jacket and kept her calm and safe whilst other emergency services and further officers arrived.
PC Wood, who has been a response officer for four years, said: “We received a call from a male stating he was concerned about his partner, and she was struggling with her mental health. He thought she was going to jump into the Trent.
“The Trent is a vast area, and it was a very cold evening. I heard this noise like a scream, and I saw someone in the river, struggling to keep afloat.
“My concern was the river is fast flowing and cold and we did not know the condition the female was in.
“If she had got to a certain part of the river, we knew it would be very difficult to get her out, so we needed to act as soon as possible.
“We thought she had been in for about five or 10 minutes, and we did not know how much energy she had left.
“The adrenaline was flowing, and we just needed to get her out as quick as we could as well as maintaining our safety as well as hers. It was challenging.
“I just managed to get to a lower part of the embankment and drag her out. There was a sense of relief.
“It sounds cliché but being a response officer is a job for life. I like being able to help people and making an impact on someone’s life and safeguarding vulnerable people.”
His sergeant Gregory Saxelby commended the actions of PC Wood and the other officers who assisted in the search for the drowning woman.
He said: “PC Woods decisive actions during this incident undoubtedly saved the life of the woman involved, prevented further risk to the other officers’ present and demonstrated clear decision making and communication under pressure.
“His actions and indeed that of PC Matthew Wileman, PC Thomas Willetts and PC Thomas Evans are an outstanding example of police work at its best and should be commended.”
Nottinghamshire Police has joined other forces across the country to celebrate the hard work, dedication, and bravery of those who respond to calls from the public and confront criminals daily.
Starting today, Monday, June 24, Response Policing Week of Action is an opportunity to highlight the difficult, demanding, and unpredictable work that response officers and staff do to keep people safe.
The actions of the response officers in Newark are just some of many across the county which are being highlighted by the force to mark the week.
In April his year, PC Reece Harper and PC Filip Wozniak attended an address where a woman threatened to take her own life.
Response officers climbed to the roof top and attempted to keep the victim calm and to ensure she did not harm herself.
As she attempted to raise the knife to her body, the two officers risked their own safety to pull the weapon away and ensure she did not fall at the same time.
She was then calmly brought down from the rooftop where she was later sectioned under the Mental Health Act.
On May 13, response officers, including PC Saara Nawaz, were called to an address in Mansfield where neighbours had heard a couple screaming and shouting.
The man at the address became more and more agitated and he grabbed hold of a knife, threatening to harm himself.
Once in custody, PC Nawaz calmed the man down, ensuring the appropriate steps were taken around his welfare.
In May, a family member had not heard from their relative for some days and grew increasingly concerned.
Two response officers attended the address in St Ann’s and noticed the house was shrouded in darkness with the windows closed.
They forced entry into the address where they located a woman conscious but unresponsive in the bedroom.
She was placed in the recovery position and paramedics were called. They also offered reassurance and managed to ascertain that the woman had suffered a seizure.
