Life saving Essex Police officer recognised for bravery

10 May 2024

A police officer who stood beneath a teenager and broke her fall when she fell from a bridge over a busy A road has won an Essex Police Federation Bravery Award.

PC Sam Owen will now join colleagues from across the county at the prestigious Awards event in April where a winner for the National Police Bravery Awards will be announced.

 
It was in October 2023, Essex Police received numerous calls about a 14-year-old girl in school uniform who was standing on the edge of a bridge above the A12.

One of the callers was the mother of an off-duty officer. She informed him about the girl, and he made his way to the bridge and started to engage with the girl, who was highly distressed.

Another off-duty officer happened to be passing as he was driving home and he also stopped to try and assist.

By this time, officers had put a roadblock in place on the A12 northbound to prevent traffic from passing underneath the bridge.

When PC Owen and a colleague arrived at the scene, they found the girl hanging precariously over the bridge. Thinking quickly, one officer ran onto the southbound A12 to stop oncoming traffic, before running up the embankment to talk to the girl. PC Owen stood directly underneath the bridge, while trying to reassure the girl.

Other officers arrived at the scene to help manage the situation and one of them climbed over the barrier of the bridge to speak with the girl.

Despite the officer’s best attempts to persuade the girl away from the edge of the bridge, she suddenly fell. PC Owen was still underneath her on the road and as the girl fell he moved to make an attempt to soften her landing. He tried to catch her and was successful in breaking the girl’s fall, which prevented her upper body and head hitting the ground.

 
PC Owen and his colleagues immediately started to administer first aid to the girl, while also managing the scene and other upset members of the public who had witnessed the fall. They were joined by the fire brigade and later air ambulance, who managed the girl’s medical care.
Due to the officers’ actions, in particular PC Owen softening her blow, the girl only suffered broken bones in her feet and sustained no life-changing injuries. Doctors at Colchester Hospital said that PC Owen’s actions saved the girl’s life.

PC Owen recalls: “I’ve got two young daughters myself, both under 4, so of the school uniform… it hit home really. It just looked like we were running out of time to try and stop her.
“Adrenaline kicks in. It was almost like a bit of desperation really. We were all desperate to help her, and we were desperate to try and save her, but at the same time she looked in a desperate situation herself.

 
“You just go on autopilot really. I don’t think you truly know how you’re going to react until you’re in that situation.

“I just tried to avoid her head hitting the floor. Basically her top half was the bit I was trying to protect the most and get my arms underneath. It was just trying to limit the impact really, and try to take the sting out of the fall, was pretty much my best option and the most hope that I had.
“It was a relief afterwards because of the result that we got. I know she broke both of her feet, I believe. I think she landed on one of my feet, and I think she broke her foot as well. I suffered minor injuries, but in comparison to what it could have been, all round, it was so… very, very lucky really.”

 
On winning the Award, PC Owen added: “It’s obviously a really proud moment for me and my family. You always hear in the mainstream media and elsewhere about the negative stuff around the police and the public’s feelings about us at times. It does get disheartening. But it’s nice to be recognised.

 
“I didn’t join the job to receive Awards, I joined the job to try and make a difference and help people. The biggest thing out of this is that the young girl survived and I was able to save her. That’s good enough for me.”

Essex Police Federation Chair Laura Heggie said: “You are filled with emotion hearing about these heroic actions from Sam.

“Police officers do a lot more than just fight crime and what a hero Sam is. He acted without thought for his own safety, he put himself in harm’s way by trying to catch the young girl, and he succeeded in saving her life, he was incredibly brave.”

 
Laura added: “Credit must be given to all the officers who worked together as a team that day and their actions prevented tragic consequences, enabling a vulnerable girl to get the support she needed.

“We know the girl’s family are understandably incredibly grateful for Sam’s courage that day. We are very proud of them all.”

PC Owen will attend the Essex Police Federation Bravery Awards on Thursday 16 May.
His colleagues Special Constable Jordan Abbott, PC Matt Noone, PC Simon Faraday are Highly Commended for their work during this incident.

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 National Police Healthcare Scheme.

Also sponsoring the Awards are Serve and Protect Credit Union, Rates Group, No 1 Copperpot Credit Union, Metfriendly, Niche, Uniform Mortgages, THB Legal, George Burrows, Arc Legal and Police Mutual.

The hashtag for the event is #EssexFedBravery.

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