National Police Bravery Awards 2024

17 May 2024

Three courageous officers who skilfully detained a deranged knifeman who attempted to murder them have been nominated for the national Police Bravery Awards 2024.

Neighbourhood Sergeants Marc Foster and Tim Ansell, from Greater Manchester Police, were in attendance purely as support at the scene of an uneventful failure to stop by a moped on July 26, 2023. The driver was detained by PC Marcus Wolstencroft and his student who had given chase.

PS Foster and Ansell were in attendance speaking to those involved when a man approached PS Foster from behind and without warning violently attacked with a knife, going straight for his throat.

As PS Foster struggled to defend himself, PS Ansell courageously stepped in and came to the defence of his colleague, and now, once PS Foster had been shoved aside the individual came for PS Ansell, stabbing repeatedly at his neck.

At this point PC Wolstencroft stepped in, demonstrating great calmness of mind and expert skill in deploying his Taser.

His first deployment failed, but following training he held his nerve and ground and fired again, this time incapacitating the individual and creating an opportunity for him to be restrained and detained.

His presence of mind and coolness under pressure meant he was able to follow training procedures and deploy a textbook use of Taser. He even had the composure to apologise to bystanders for swearing in the heat of the incident.

The time this bought PS Foster meant he was able to spring to the aid of his partner PS Ansell who had received a stab wound to the neck. PS Foster applied, without doubt, lifesaving first aid, plugging the bleed with his bare hands, and reassuring PS Ansell he would be ok whilst waiting for medical support to arrive.

The heroic actions of these officers meant a deranged and dangerous individual was removed from the streets, undoubtedly preventing further attacks and injury and potential loss of life.

PS Foster received slash wounds to the neck and arms and PS Ansell suffered two open wounds to his neck, one of which required a vein to be cauterised and stitched, along with further slash wounds to his arms and body.

Chief Superintendent Colette Rose said: “Police officers find themselves in challenging or compromising situations daily as it is their role to serve and protect the public.

“This particular day, these officers came into work as they do every day to continue in their duties, but no one could have prepared them for how their day would end.

“The officers attended, on the face of it, a straight forward vehicle stop to assist colleagues. Without warning this turned from something quite innocent into a serious life-threatening situation for all involved and resulted in officers being injured and hospitalised.

“The heroic actions of these officers prevented this incident from developing any further, and very quickly the suspect was apprehended, preventing any members of the public being caught up and/or injured. They were professional, brave and are a real credit to the organisation. We are all exceptionally proud.”

Chair of Greater Manchester Police Federation, Mike Peake, said: “Sergeant Marc Foster, Sergeant Tim Ansell, and PC Marcus Wolstencroft, when carrying out their duties, should never expect to be so viciously attacked. This is sadly yet another example of the current dangers police officers encounter daily.

“Whilst defending themselves from a vicious and unprovoked knife attack, all three officers displayed incredible bravery, putting their lives at risk to detain an extremely dangerous offender. They all deserve full recognition for their professionalism and bravery. They are true heroes, and given the nature of the attack, if it wasn’t for their quick reactions working as a team, it is a miracle they are here today.

“After the attacker pleaded guilty at court for attempted murder, it is quite clear his sole intention was to kill a police officer in uniform as they patrolled the streets whilst keeping the community safe.”