Scarborough policemen rewarded for going '˜above and beyond'

The awards were introduced to celebrate the achievements of officers and staff who embody the Force’s values of courage, compassion and inspiration, was attended by winners, their families and senior officers.

In February this year PC Michael Tinsley was dispatched to an address in Scarborough following reports that a hysterical and intoxicated woman was harming herself with a large kitchen knife.

Given the immediate possible risk to life, the officer tackled the situation alone. On entering the property, PC Tinsley was confronted with a woman brandishing an eight inch kitchen knife. PC Tinsley was able to use a door as cover and restrain the woman. It was at this point that a second intoxicated woman appeared, armed with another knife, and approached the officer.

PC Tinsley managed to restrain the second woman with his one free hand, and as the second woman was disarmed and forced away, he had chance to disarm the first woman so he could finally secure her in cuffs.

He was the winner of both the gold Courage Award and the Public Choice Award at Friday’s event.

Chief Constable of North Yorkshire Police, Dave Jones, said: “It’s not every day that our officers, staff and volunteers get recognised for going above and beyond in what they do and so it’s an honour to celebrate the winners. We were humbled to see so many nominations for this year’s awards and I am proud of each and every one.”

On a cold night in January this year PC James Dunn was dispatched to an area of Scarborough following reports that a man was threatening to jump from a bridge.

On arrival at the scene along with another officer, it was clear that there was an immediate risk to the man’s life as he was hanging over the edge of the bridge above a 40-50ft drop.

Despite having no specialist negotiation training himself, PC Dunn managed to approach the man and enter into conversation with him for almost an hour. It was during this time that the man tried to jump and came close to falling from the bridge but through his resilience and determination PC Dunn was able to talk him back to safety.

During negotiations it became clear that the man might have had a knife which added another layer of risk to the situation but this personal risk did not deter the officer from trying to help. PC Dunn’s highly professional intervention meant that the man was brought to safety and the incident was brought to a safe conclusion and he was awarded the silver Compassion Award at Friday’s event.

Police and Crime Commissioner, Julia Mulligan, said: “The evening proved to be a real celebration of public service, personal courage and compassion and was a chance to say thank you for the outstanding work done on behalf of the public of North Yorkshire.”