A WESTBURY Sergeant and four Police Constables received an award for outstanding teamwork at the Force Awards last week.
The team, Sgt James Suter, PC Jon Hargreaves, PC Sarah Pickles, PC James Isaac and PC Phil Bridge, have been praised for their excellent teamwork, communication skills, professionalism and restraint in handling a dangerous and chaotic situation, bringing about a safe conclusion.
During the evening of Sunday 9th April, the team were called to Westbury Market Place after receiving a number of reports that a man arguing with a woman was acting aggressively and making threats.
Arriving on the scene, they discovered that the man was holding a baby and that he was in a very agitated state. The man’s behaviour became more erratic and he started to head-butt windows, kicking the door of a pub and at one point wandered into the middle of the A350 leaving officers with no choice but to stop traffic for his own safety.
Officers attempted to engage and reason with the man, agreeing to certain demands but due to his bizarre and unpredictable behaviour, as soon as officers met one demand he would make a further one. Several attempts to speak with the man proved fruitless and only added to his agitated state.
The scene was contained, but members of the public were attempting to intervene. There were small pockets of disorder within the market place and several patrols were dispatched from a neighbouring community policing team to not only deal with the man, but also the pockets of disorder, and unhelpful members of the public simultaneously, which posed an extreme level of risk.
The incident reached a head when the man made his way into a bar, accessing it through a back door. He took a knife and large bottle from the bar area and attempted to break the glass. The glass of the bottle wouldn’t break and it was at this point, that officers drew their Tasers.
Officers in the bar continued to negotiate with the man and it was clear the situation was escalating at such a pace that physical intervention was becoming more likely.
The incident eventually came to an end when the man gave himself up to officers. Fortunately, Tasers were not required.
The man was arrested without a struggle, and taken to Melksham Custody where he was charged with affray, possessing an offensive weapon and child cruelty.
