Officers who saved a suicidal man have been named winners of a Bravery Award at the Avon and Somerset Police Federation Recognition Awards

8 October 2024

Two officers who saved a man’s life when he tried to kill himself in front of a primary school have been named winners of a Bravery Award at the Avon and Somerset Police Federation Recognition Awards

Sgt Garth Tiley – and an officer who asked not to be named - will now join colleagues across the force having their exceptional courage and dedication to duty celebrated at this new event in early October.

At 3pm on 15 March 2023, Avon and Somerset Police received reports of a man outside a primary school in Bristol cutting his neck and bleeding profusely. The man was shouting to members of the public: “I can hear voices in my head, stay away from me, I don’t want to hurt you.”

A PC was one of the officers dispatched to the incident, where many young children and their parents were coming out of the school. Paramedics were also at the scene.

The PC immediately moved the paramedics away from the man for their own safety and attempted to engage with the disturbed man. The officers saw that the man was still holding the implement he used to cut himself and that he was covered in blood.

Meanwhile other officers liaised with school staff to manage the safe removal of children from the premises, away from the visibly traumatic scene.

As Sgt Tiley arrived at the scene, the man suddenly cut his neck again and, concerned he would sever an artery and kill himself, the officers discharged Taser in an attempt to incapacitate him.

Because the man was wearing heavy clothing, no Taser deployments were successful.

Given the imminent risk to life, Sgt Tiley ran at the man and, using a knee strike to the chest, caused the man to fall to the floor and drop the shard of glass.

The PC handcuffed the man so that he couldn’t make any more attempts on his life.

Along with the paramedics, officers administered urgent first aid to stop the bleeding.

Sgt Tiley said afterwards: “We had no choice but to go hands on and physically restrain him, take the glass away from his neck, and then give him immediate first aid. He was a risk to himself and the children who were around him. The quicker we could get control of him, give him life-saving treatment and stop any kids getting hurt, the better. It’s a primary school – we don’t want kids to see that kind of thing. Instinct just took over.”

The PC added: “As well as the children, the street was packed at that time of day.

There were lots of people and they were all watching what was happening, so it was quite a chaotic situation. But, I would say, from me getting there and him being detained safely, it must have been only about a minute. It was very quick. When I tried to speak to the man, it didn’t work. You could tell he was in a bad state of mind and he wasn’t listening to what I was saying. We just needed to get the glass off him and stop him trying to kill himself.”

The man was detained and placed under Section 136 of the Mental Health Act, and his elderly mother later personally thanked all the officers in the incident for their brave actions in saving her son’s life and treating him with utmost care and respect.

The PC said: “It’s quite rare to get a thank you and it was really nice to hear that the mother supported our actions. When I heard that the Federation had nominated us for an award, I was a bit surprised but very grateful. It’s good to be recognised because it’s not often that it happens.”

Acting Chair of Avon and Somerset Police Federation, Iain Prideaux, said: “This incident demonstrated exceptional bravery from our officers who not only saved the man’s life but also carried out their duties with care and respect for the man and the wider community.

“There is no doubt that these officers' quick-thinking, courage and teamwork saved this vulnerable man’s life and protected the young children attending the primary school.

“Congratulations Garth and his colleague – we are very proud of you.”

Sgt Tiley and his colleague will attend the Avon and Somerset Police Federation Recognition Awards on Thursday 3 October.

The lead sponsor for the Awards is the ASPF Group Insurance Scheme.

Also sponsoring are Serve and Protect Credit Union, George Burrows, Niche, Uniform Mortgages, Warren & Co, The Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Commissioner, Accord, The Avon and Somerset Police Benevolent Fund, Pointers Financial and Bluline.

The hashtag for the event is #ASPFAwards.

If you have been affected by this story, you can contact the Samaritans on 116 123.