A South Yorkshire Police officer who bravely traversed busy roads to single-handedly detain two men on the run has won a South Yorkshire Police Federation Bravery Award.<\/p>\n
PC Dominic Jones was one of several officers travelling in a marked police van through Rotherham town centre last year when he saw a vehicle make off at speed. The officers did not pursue the vehicle but it crashed in its attempt to get away, and both its occupants fled the scene.<\/p>\n
PC Jones pursued both occupants across the carriageway and into a network of underpasses. Following an extensive chase on foot and a search of the area, he located the first man and detained him after pointing his Taser at him.<\/p>\n
Shortly afterwards more officers arrived, and PC Jones directed them to handcuff the man. Then he went on to pursue the second man, finding him hiding by the side of a building. Again he pointed the red dot of his Taser at him, and the man was safely contained until further officers arrived and placed him in handcuffs.<\/p>\n
As a result of the incident, officers seized an amount of cash and cannabis. It emerged that the men were well-recorded for violent offences, and the vehicle was not registered to either of them, so police are investigating Aggravated Vehicle-Taking as well as Possession with Intent to Supply.<\/p>\n
Chasing men who could have been armed around a network of underpasses was worrying, PC Jones said, but he stayed focused on the task.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cThere was a point when I thought: \u2018something bad could happen here\u2019. But I was just focused and concentrating on my work, wanting to locate them both. You know that they\u2019ve got weapon markers on them, so that runs through your mind. What if, all of a sudden, they make themselves present and with a weapon? My operational training kicked in, but certainly afterwards, that\u2019s where you sit down and you think about the what ifs. What could have happened.\u201d<\/p>\n
South Yorkshire Police Federation Chair Steve Kent said: \u201cDominic showed clear determination and bravery to pursue and detain these offenders single-handedly. He showed great decision-making and leadership skills to direct officers once the first subject was secured and then to continue in the pursuit of the other man.<\/p>\n
\u201cBoth individuals were making clear and determined efforts to avoid detention by the police, but Dominic was determined to ensure they were apprehended. This is not out of character for this officer, who regularly goes above and beyond in his duties.\u201d<\/p>\n
PC Jones attended the South Yorkshire Police Federation Bravery Awards ceremony on 16 June.<\/p>\n
The Awards were held in association with The Northern Healthcare Scheme and the hashtag for the event was #SYPFBravery.<\/p>\n