Cop suffers physical and mental trauma after life-saving act

11 June 2024

A retired police officer who was severely injured after saving a man’s life has spoken about the impact on his physical and mental health.

PC Matt Kidd-Stanton suffered injury to the discs in his neck after grabbing the man as he jumped from Orwell Bridge on the A14 near Ipswich in 2019.

And as his physical health suffered so too did his mental health and Matt experienced a breakdown in 2021.

He’s spoken about his experiences for Men’s Health Week and encouraged officers to who are struggling with their mental health to seek help early.

Matt said: “I didn’t realise how acutely mentally unwell I was. The Force referred me to a psychologist and within 20 minutes of being with him he said I’d got complex PTSD, severe depression and anxiety. I’m still working with him.

“It opened up a lot of things for me – it wasn’t just the injury.

“I thought that as a police officer I can handle anything. At the time you carry on and don’t have time to think about it. But when it came out, it all came out – links back to the bridge, grief deaths and suicides I’ve dealt with.”

Matt said his ‘world was turned upside down’ on that fateful night in February 2019 when he grabbed the man who was attempting to die by suicide.

“He was on the bridge and just as I got to him he jumped and I grabbed hold of him, took all of his weight, and got him back over the other side,” he said. “At the time I thought I’d pulled a muscle and I’d be fine.”

However, by May Matt couldn’t move his left arm, and said he was suffering the ‘worst pain imaginable’ in his neck and down into his arms and hands.

He underwent two lots of surgery in 2019 and 2020, but it did not correct the issue.

“It’s not been right since,” he said. “The hypothesis is one of my nerves was caught in the scar tissue of the first surgery.

“There’s nothing else they can do because it’s close to my spine. I’m 50 per cent disabled, and on strong pain medication for the rest of my life just so I can carry on.”

Matt was named Police Officer of the Year in the Stars of Suffolk in 2019 for his actions that night, and at the event he met his old school friend, Nigel Seaman.

Nigel founded Combat2Coffee, which is based in Ipswich and provides mental health support to army veterans and blue-light workers, and invited Matt to join him for a cuppa.

Matt eventually met him and, from that chat, he is now volunteering for the not-for-profit organisation.

“It’s not about coffee,” he said. “It’s a vehicle for people to be able to talk, to signpost them to where they need to be and who they need to speak to. It’s given me a whole new lease of life to be part of something. I feel valued and gives me a sense of wellbeing.

I joined the police because I wanted to help people and give back. It’s not quite the same scale, but it’s still helping people.”

Matt added: “My advice to colleagues and offers who might be experiencing issues with their mental health is to get help. Speak to someone. No one is infallible.

Matt won Police officer of the year for saving the man's life.

“When I was a serving police officer, you don’t realise the trauma you’re taking on board. You see things people never see in a lifetime. If you try to deal with it alone, it’s only going to end one way and you’re going to crash. Officers are only human. There’s only so much they can take before they break.

“It’s getting that message out there to get that help before they break, because it is no fun.”

The Police Federation has launched #AskTwice, a campaign that aims to the importance of members looking after their own mental health and checking in on each other.

#AskTwice commits to fostering a supportive and inclusive environment where people feel valued, heard, and empowered to seek help when needed.

The campaign is also a resource and brings together assets to offer support and guidance in areas such as bereavement, financial wellbeing, and suicide.

Find out more about #AskTwice