Fed member tracks down attacker despite severe head injury

7 September 2023

A Nottinghamshire Police Federation member who was attacked while making an arrest has described how he managed to track down the suspect despite sustaining serious head injuries.

Dog handler PC Chris Duffy was left with a seven-inch wound across the back of his head but managed to get to his feet and locate his attacker who has now pleaded guilty to the offence in court.

He said: “It was a sneaky and cowardly attack from behind and it was important that he did not get away. In the end, we chased him down, we caught him, and he lost.

“I would like to thank my colleagues for all their support. The wound was around seven inches wide, exposing my skull and meant I was off duty for a month.

PC Chris Duffy was left with a seven-inch wound across the back of his head

“The back of my head still hurts from the attack, but I am back on duty doing the job I love.”

The incident began to unfold when Chris and other officers attended Bullock Close in Mansfield Woodhouse, at around 1.15am on Saturday 11 March 2023 after reports a landlady was being threatened by a group of men who had turned up at her pub even though they had been banned.

Mason Perkins, 24, had threatened to burn the pub down before being dragged away by some of the other men.

Officers searched the area and police dog Reno tracked one of the men who was found hiding behind a car in a driveway off Bullock Close.

PC Chris Duffy and police dog Reno

Chris, who has been a police officer for 15 years, was arresting this man when Perkins struck him from behind with an unknown object and then punched and kicked the officer as he lay on the ground before fleeing the scene.

He was pursued by officers including Chris after he had received initial medical treatment and was arrested in Lime Tree Avenue. When officers searched him, they found a large amount of cannabis, cash, and mobile phones.

Perkins, of Moor Street, Mansfield Woodhouse, pleaded guilty at Nottingham Crown Court on Tuesday 5 September to Grievous Bodily Harm (GBH) with Intent, supplying Class B drugs and offering to supply Class A drugs. He will be sentenced on 8 December.

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