Today in South Yorkshire Police a police officer who was just doing his job was an attack, he paraded for duty at 7am and 30 minutes later was responding to a blue light job.
It was a triple nine emergency blue light run, It was to reports of a crash. He responded single crewed and believed people could be hurt. Traveling with the mindset that people needed his help with that in mind he was heading to help the very people who turned on him and attacked him.
As he arrived on the scene those within the car had run away, he caught up with them after a foot chase and he confronted them. He was an experienced officer aged 45 who could handle himself.
They quickly turned on him and attacked him.
They left him for dead because they simply had something to hide, they wanted to get away having crashed the car in the village of Hexthrope near Doncaster.
Cops serve our community
Police Officers have been sworn to the office of constable to protect our community they work day and night to keep us safe, sometimes stressed, under-resourced and underpaid but they do it because they love to help people like me and you.
They put their life on the line time and time again because they keep me and you safe they are very professional at the job they do and they take pride in protecting and helping others.
They are one of the most upstanding members of the community holding the highest levels of honesty and integrity they must act in a lawful manner which reflects the values of the community.
A Police Officer should never go to work wondering if they’ll come back home tonight, they should never think is this my last blue light run and under no circumstances should an officer be attacked in the line of duty.
Attack on our community
Tougher sentences should be imposed on those who attack our officers and attack our community. No matter how much people may or may not hate the police there is no justification for an attack on police officers.
Not only do these attacks have such a personal impact on the officer, family and workmates it also leaves the community vulnerable one officer down, fewer cops on the streets to keep me and you safe.
Anyone who would attack a person who held the office of constable would not think twice about attack anyone within the community.
Community Impact
While that police officer is recovering in hospital due to these truly disgraceful actions of an idiot, our communities are vulnerable.
We are one officer down, one officer less to respond to people who are in real danger of harm and need the help of a now overstretched divisional policing team who have one less in their team to support them and the community they are trying to protect.
Help will be slower because now there are not enough resources to respond, there is a crime scene on which will take officers away from the streets from over divisions the impact will be felt not just within this community but within many communities across the force area.
Simply not part of the job
Our Police Officers are out there doing an extremely difficult and challenging job, which means officers face real dangers in the line of duty.
Assaults on police officers should never be viewed as part of the job because it is simply unacceptable.
Assaults on our Police Officers in the line of duty should are an absolute utter disgrace and should not be tolerated, they are an attack on our community.