Officer who single-handedly pursued and detained an offender despite having just been assaulted wins Avon & Somerset Federation Bravery Award

13 October 2026

An officer who single-handedly pursued and detained an offender despite having just been assaulted has won the Bravery Award at the Avon & Somerset Police Federation Recognition Awards.

On Sunday 4 January 2026, police received a call about a man suffering a mental health episode and shouting threats to oncoming traffic and members of the public.

PC Emma Richards was dispatched single-crewed to the scene, which was by the side of a busy road. She approached the man and could tell he was in a mental health crisis. A family friend was with him, and she told PC Richards his name and said he had lost his medication.

PC Richards recalled: “I suggested potentially taking him to hospital to get his medication sorted, but prior to doing that I wanted to establish who he was, to work out the risk.” So she attempted to speak to and engage with the man, but “out of nowhere” he suddenly punched PC Richards to the side of her mouth.

PC Richards said: “It caused me to step out into the road, after I lost balance. Luckily it was quite heavy traffic, so I stood in front of a car that was waiting in the traffic. The initial force knocked my earpiece out, so I called up for more units.”

PC Richards’ lip had split and was bleeding, and she was later found to have loosened teeth and concussion.

The man then ran into a nearby property, and PC Richards could hear screaming and shouting coming from inside.

She said: “Obviously, I had concerns about what was happening inside – other people's safety, and my safety as well, if he was to come back out with anything, having potentially gone into a kitchen. So my priority was to detain the man as quickly as I could to protect myself, but also members of the public.

“So I made sure I had other units coming, then entered the property, and the man started walking towards me with his hands up. I arrested the man for the assault on myself, and then got him outside the property while I waited for more units to arrive.

“It was at this point that I could feel the blood trickling down my face, and it was maybe a five-minute wait until backup came, at which point they stepped in, and then I stepped away and realised the extent of my injuries.” PC Richards was taken to hospital and treated for her split lip.

The offender was taken into custody and charged with assault ABH, but eventually the court gave him an absolute discharge.

When PC Richards heard she had won a Federation Bravery Award, she said: “I was surprised, to be honest. I feel like you do this job not to be thanked or recognised. It was an incident that affected me, but I felt very honoured to get it for what I felt was just doing my job. I can't thank my team and my supervisors enough for their support.”

Avon & Somerset Police Federation Chair Tom Gent said: “Despite the high risk and pressure and already having been violently assaulted, Emma did not hesitate to detain this offender, helping to protect the public, the offender themselves and other officers. Her courage, resilience and unwavering commitment to duty exemplify the highest standards of policing and make her truly deserving of recognition.”

PC Richards will attend the Avon & Somerset Police Federation Recognition Awards 2026 on Thursday 15 October.

The lead sponsor for the Awards is Axon.

Also sponsoring are Serve and Protect Credit Union, Gallagher, Niche, Uniform Mortgages, Accord, Police Friendly, Warren & Co, Ginge Tours, Bluline Health, No1 CopperPot Credit Union and Police Mortgages.