A man, who was the only person to stop and come to an officers aid during a daring arrest, has been given the Chief Superintendent’s Good Citizenship Award.
Richard Best was driving down the expressway towards the River Tamar tunnel in Saltash, UK when he saw the blue lights of a police car ahead. He slowed down as he passed, looking out of curiosity, but there was nobody inside the vehicle.
Two cars passed him, apparently not happy with the rate at which he was progressing. That’s when he saw the scene; two people wrestling in the road. A female officer was trying desperately to apprehend a much larger civilian who was not cooperating.
Best could clearly see that the officer was outmatched. He pulled his car over to the shoulder where he stopped, got out, and walked back up to the scuffle. Now he could better see what was going on.
Richard Best (inset) came to the policewoman’s aid
The man was being very verbally aggressive to the officer as he resisted her. He kept pulling away from her, trying to get back on the fast-moving highway. It all made sense when the man shouted that he didn’t care if he was killed.
This was a suicide attempt.
Richard was now deeply concerned that the distraught man would pull the officer into the road with him. If that happened, they were both bound to get hit by a speeding vehicle. So he did exactly what you should do in a situation like this.
He told the officer who he was and that he was there to help. Then he asked her what she wanted him to do. She didn’t hesitate to accept his offer, explaining that she wanted to get the disturbed stranger out of the street, on the ground, and in handcuffs.
Now the man focused his aggression and mean words to Richard. That didn’t last long, though, as Richard then tripped the man over on the shoulder. Together civilian and policewoman pinned him down and arrested him.
Richard wants to make it known how brave the officer was. Not only did she try to save the life of a desperate suicidal man standing over 6 ft., but she did it standing a full foot shorter than him. Plus it was at night, on a stretch of road that was not well lit, and a very busy highway at that.
Though police don’t often receive praise from the press, Richard wants her to be recognized. He says that the incident has given him new respect for what they do.
At the same time, he is very disappointed. So many people drove by, even slowing down to get a good look at what was transpiring, but nobody stopped to lend a hand. Even still, she is very brave and courageous for trying despite the odds.
Would you have done the same in his situation? Be sure to SHARE this story and LIKE our page for more!
