Four police officers who courageously stepped forward to save the life of a man who had been stabbed recognised with a Federation Bravery Award

17 May 2023

Four police officers who courageously stepped forward to save the life of a man who had been stabbed in the neck have won Essex Police Federation Bravery Awards.

On 9 September 2022 at 11.29pm, PC Jessica Croney, PC Dean Bell and PC Danny Crouchman were called to a nightclub in Braintree. They found a member of the security staff on the ground suffering from a deep cut to his neck and they recognised that it was a catastrophic bleed; his jugular vein had been severed.

PC Croney took over first aid from the manager of the premises, placing her hands firmly on the man’s neck, while she called for help from the force control room. PC Crouchman remained at the victim’s side, assisting PC Croney with the initial first aid.

It emerged that a man had been acting inappropriately towards women and making homophobic remarks at the club, so had been ejected from the premises. As he was leaving, the man told the security staff member: “I am going to come back here and kill you”.

He then returned to the premises in possession of a cut-throat razor, approached the security man and struck out at his neck with the razor, cutting him. The security man collapsed to the ground, with members of the public running after the assailant and managing to hold him under control.

PC Bell ran straight to where the suspect was being detained by members of the public to establish that he was being effectively and safely detained, before going back to help PC Croney and PC Crouchman.

PC Courtney Bailey arrived on the scene and phoned the ambulance, requesting their urgent assistance. She assisted PC Croney by giving immediate first aid to the victim.

Both officers held tightly to the victim’s neck in an attempt to slow the bleeding, while offering him words of reassurance. They used the haemorrhage-control first-aid kit provided by the venue and, with all the knowledge and experience they could muster, began life-saving first aid.

Meanwhile PC Bell directed other police officers to the suspect, and told them where scenes needed to be placed, including the location of the weapon. He took oversight of the first aid, directing PC Croney and PC Bailey how to progress if the man was to deteriorate. PC Crouchman ensured everyone’s safety by making sure that members of the public were kept a safe distance away.

An ambulance arrived and all officers assisted them with their first aid, as they could not control the bleeding alone. When the man was stable enough to be moved on a stretcher into the ambulance, PC Bailey walked alongside him and held his hand to reassure him.

PC Croney, PC Bell and PC Crouchman all attended the hospital for victim primacy. They continued to assist and support the medical professionals with requests – including arranging for a specialist vascular surgeon to be blue-lighted from Basildon to Broomfield.

The surgeons at the hospital said that if it were not for the immediate actions of the officers, the victim would almost certainly have died and that it was a miracle that he had survived. Two days after the incident, the victim was sitting up eating in hospital, and was discharged in less than a week.

In April this year Geoffrey Ryan, of Brick Kiln Way, Braintree, was jailed for 28 years for attempted murder and racially aggravated harassment.

PC Croney said: “A member of the public run over to me and Danny, shouting, ‘Help, this guy needs help’. And on the floor was a victim who had had his throat slit open by a knife. So we just started performing first aid as best we could, and then we were joined by Dean and Courtney afterwards that assisted us in continuing that until an ambulance got there. Then we went up to hospital with him and we were there all night, pretty much, until he got released from surgery and was put in intensive care.

“It sounds cheesy but, when I say this was like a team effort, every single person on my shift that attended that job had such a huge part to play in making that as smooth as possible, whether that be securing witnesses, CCTV enquiries, putting a scene on to detain suspects. Everyone had their part to play, which made that job so seamless.

“I think it’s lovely to be awarded like this by the Federation. It’s really amazing… it makes you feel quite appreciated and it’s a nice thing to come out of such a horrible incident.”

Essex Police Federation Chair Laura Heggie said: “The officers worked as a team to keep the man calm and conscious, to ensure the best possible outcome. I cannot convey in words the level of professionalism and bravery that the officers displayed throughout this incident.

“The first aid delivered went above and beyond any training provided. Regardless of the catastrophic bleeding, looking into the eyes of a man who believes he is dying must have been very traumatic. Congratulations to these colleagues who worked brilliantly as a team.”

Laura added: “We must also pay credit to the work of our dedicated detective colleagues who secured the conviction of this violent man, ensuring justice was achieved.”

The officers will attend the Essex Police Federation Bravery Awards on Thursday 18 May.

At the event a winner will be announced who will travel to London for the National Police Federation Bravery Awards in July.

The lead sponsor for the Awards is The Northern Police Healthcare Scheme.

Also sponsoring the Awards are Rates Group, No 1 Copperpot Credit Union, Metfriendly, Slater Gordon, Flint House Police Rehabilitation, Uniform Mortgages, THB Legal, George Burrows, Arc Legal and Police Mutual.

The hashtag for the event is #EssexFedBravery.