Suffolk PC to attend Police Bravery Awards

8 December 2021

A Suffolk police constable who pulled a drunken man to safety after he ran out onto a busy dual carriageway has been nominated for a Police Bravery Award and will join fellow nominees at a special presentation ceremony this week.

PC Chris Clark showed “cool-headed professionalism” as he dragged the man to the relative safety of the hard shoulder on the A14 before a scuffle ensued.

PC Clark then managed to restrain the man for nearly 11 minutes within feet of the busy road until back-up arrived.

Darren Harris, chair of Suffolk Police Federation, has praised the brave officer saying: “PC Clark put his own life at risk to save the life of a complete stranger. His actions are commendable and I feel very proud to be accompanying him to the prestigious Police Bravery Awards this week.”

PC Clark’s actions have seen him shortlisted for the Police Federation’s Police Bravery Awards 2021 and he will be in London for the presentations on Thursday (9 December).

The brave officer was called out to a report of a broken-down vehicle on the A14 - which links Felixstowe, Britain’s largest container port, with the Midlands and is heavily used by HGVs - shortly before 9pm on 19 June 2020.

On arrival, PC Clark pulled up behind the vehicle which was parked on the hard shoulder. The intoxicated man was also on the hard shoulder, and sat on his vehicle’s bonnet as PC Clark started to carry out checks.

The man then glanced towards the dual carriageway before running onto it.

PC Clark also entered the lanes of traffic and managed to pull him back onto the hard shoulder only for the man to resist, trying to overpower the officer.

Both nearly ended up on the road as heavy traffic roared past, before the officer managed to restrain him until other officers came to his assistance.

PC Clark, based at Force Headquarters in Martlesham Heath, near Ipswich, has 14 years’ service with the Force. For this incident, he has received a Royal Humane Society Award.

The defendant went to trial and was found guilty of being drunk and disorderly and common assault on an emergency worker.