Police officer opens up on fears after knife attack

PC Mohammed Ahmed and PC Niamh Harriman have opened up about injuries they sustained in the line of duty

A Leicestershire police officer says he fears being assaulted again after he was attacked with a knife.

PC Mohammed Ahmed, 39, suffered a facial wound while attending an incident in Beaumont Leys Lane, Leicester, on 22 September.

Data obtained by the BBC through a Freedom of Information request suggests 971 officers were assaulted in Leicestershire last year.

“I was lucky that my injuries were not as bad as they could have been,” said PC Ahmed.

PC Mohammed Ahmed was off work for four weeks after the attack

He added: “I’m always thinking that this could happen again when a job comes up with a mention of a knife.”

Earlier this month, PC Ahmed, who was off work for four weeks after the attack, was nominated for a Police Bravery Award.

He said: “It was a normal Thursday night. I’m based in the city centre and a job came through with reports that a man had been seen with a knife.

“He has first attacked my colleague, and then has gone to attack me. He’s punched me with a knife in his hand, and its hit me right below my eye. I also received a broken nose.

“It’s only afterwards that the enormity hits you.

"We do not go to work to get assaulted and it’s almost accepted that we’re going to get attacked by certain people.”

The FOI request obtained by the BBC shows the number of assaults against officers in the county has tripled in five years.

Chief Constable Rob Nixon said the increase in assaults against officers was "a worrying trend", but explained the rise could partially be attributed to the force getting better at recording incidents.

He added: "Any assault, any violence towards anyone who is an emergency service worker is totally unacceptable.

"It should never become socially acceptable. It should not become the norm.

"We will always pursue a prosecution for those that commit offences against officers.

"We should never forget the bravery and the sacrifice that we see every day from officers that are going out and putting themselves into harm’s way to protect the public and often they don’t get the credit for that."

PC Niamh Harriman was run over by a vehicle in January

PC Niamh Harriman, 25, has been working at Leicestershire Police for the last six years and was run over by a vehicle in January.

“The woman was sitting in the driver's seat and was trying to get the keys into the ignition. She started the vehicle, put the foot on reverse and she ran over my right foot," PC Harriman said.

“The tyre ran over my right side. My colleagues saw this incident take place from a distance, I activated my emergency button and went to the hospital to get checked over.”

29-year-old Dakota Henton, of Dodsworth Close, Leicester, pleaded guilty to two assaults on an emergency worker – PC Harriman and PC Toby Wilson – as well as failing to provide a specimen for analysis, dangerous driving and driving without a licence.

Henton was sentenced to 52 weeks in prison, suspended for 18 months.

“I had a sprained hip, and then a lot of bruising on my right foot. I feel more apprehensive about heading to incidents,” PC Harriman added.

“It is the last thing you expect to happen, but this does happen a lot in this line of work. I came back to work after three weeks away.

"The longer I had off, the more anxious I would feel about returning.”

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