#HumberBravery: Officer who was pushed over a wall by a suspect but continued to chase and detain him wins Bravery Award

12 June 2023

An officer who was pushed over a wall by a suspect but continued to chase and detain him singlehandedly has won a Humberside Police and Federation Bravery Award.

On 27 July last year, PC Hannah Binnington was in her vehicle in Anlaby, East Riding of Yorkshire, when she spotted a car being driven by a high-risk suspect who was wanted for domestic abuse offences.

She pursued him in her vehicle for some time, and the suspect eventually realised that he could not out-drive PC Binnington, so he got out of his car and attempted to outrun her.

PC Binnington knew that the man had officer safety warnings, but she still decided to chase him on foot and try to detain him. When she caught up with the suspect she got hold of him and tried to handcuff him, but the suspect fought her off and pushed her over a garden wall before running away again.

Undeterred, the officer caught up with the suspect again and he continued to be non-compliant. She Tasered him, but it was ineffective because the barb hit his mobile phone; the second Taser cartridge did not fire. So PC Binnington grabbed the man and kept hold of him until backup arrived.

PC Binnington’s earpiece was pulled out during the struggle with the suspect, so she did all of this without any comms, including not knowing where she was or where her backup was. She sustained scratches and bruising from the incident but did not require any medical attention.

The suspect was imprisoned for 40 months - 10 months were for the assault on PC Binnington.

PC Binnington said: “When I was chasing him, I didn’t know where people were or anything. But I had faith in my colleagues, and faith in the fact that he would get tired before me. I was determined I wasn’t going to let him get away, because he was obviously a risk to his victim and potentially other members of the public.

“This award is definitely appreciated, but I was just doing my job, and I would expect any other police officer to do the same.”

Humberside Police Federation Chair Lee Sims said: “Hannah was on her own and without any contact with the control room when she tackled this dangerous suspect and managed to detain him.

“As always this shows how police officers run towards that danger. Humble Hannah says she was just doing her job, but we know she did so much more than that.

“We all commend her on her professionalism and bravery, which got this man off the streets and protected vulnerable people.”

PC Binnington will attend the first Humberside Police and Federation Bravery Awards on Thursday 15 June.

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 Serve and Protect Credit Union, No 1 Copperpot Credit Union, Metfriendly, Taylor Law, Niche, JMW Solicitors, New Park Court and The Humberside Police Welfare & Benevolent Fund.

The hashtag for the event is #HumberBravery.