Bravery Awards: Brave trio jump into canal to save male

29 January 2024

The winners of the Wolverhampton area West Midlands Police Federation Bravery Award are three officers who ‘without hesitation’ entered a canal to rescue an unresponsive man.

Inspector Matthew Barnes, Police Constable Simon Jesse and Student Officer Aaron Numan were called to reports of a male in distress, who appeared to be drowning in the canal at the rear of Albion Street, in Wolverhampton.

When the officers arrived at the scene the male was face down in the water, on the far side of the canal, in a section which was quite isolated and there was no nearby towpath. Members of the public indicated that the male had stopped struggling a few minutes earlier.

Without hesitation, Simon and Aaron entered the water and were soon joined by Matthew, who had not long arrived at the scene.

The trio swam across to the male, rescued him and got him out of the canal and onto the nearest towpath. 

Student Officer Aaron Numan (left) and Police Constable Simon Jesse.

“We could see the top of the man’s head in the canal - we both knew there was only one option and that was to get in the water and get him out,” said Aaron, who joined the Force just under two years ago.

“To be honest, we didn’t even speak about it. At the end of the day, our priority as police officers is to save lives and protect the public. We knew what we needed to do.”

Simon said that the water ‘got very deep, very quickly’.

“We didn’t have an issue getting into the water, it was getting the male that was a challenge,” said Simon, who is heading into his sixteenth year with the Force.

“But if there’s the chance of saving someone’s life, you do it. I think any officer would do the same, we just happened to be there on the day.”

The male was completely unresponsive, he had no pulse and was not breathing.

The three officers, plus two other colleagues, who had arrived on the scene, immediately commenced CPR on the male. This continued for around 10 to 15 minutes before being joined by paramedics.

Despite a pulse being re-established, the man sadly did not regain consciousness and died five days later.

Although the male did not recover, the actions of all those involved in the rescue gave his family a chance to see him at the hospital.

Inspector Becky Taylor who nominated the officers said: “Without a second thought each one of those officers put their lives at risk. This was a completely selfless act of bravery and one that should be recognised.”

Speaking about receiving the award, Aaron said: “It’s a great feeling and it’s nice to be recognised.”

Simon said it ‘was a bit of a surprise’, adding: “I’m really happy, and like Aaron said, it’s nice to get recognition.”

The awards take place on Wednesday (31 January), when Aaron, Simon and Matthew will receive their Wolverhampton area award, which is sponsored by Irwin Mitchell Solicitors.

The West Midlands Police Federation Bravery Awards is sponsored by Slater & Gordon Solicitors and will be held at Tally Ho Conferencing and Banqueting Centre in Edgbaston.

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