Four police officers receive awards over suicide incident
They brought woman ‘back from the dead’ ... then she became violent
Four Scarborough police officers who fought a life and death battle to bring a suicidal woman who had hanged herself back from the dead didn’t win her gratitude. As she returned to consciousness she rounded on them violently.
Now, though, as a reward for saving her life the four officers have all been awarded top national life-saving honours.
The fight for life by PCs Curtis Ireland, James Moody, Steven Munro and another officer who cannot be named took place at an undisclosed address in Scarborough on the evening of 31 January this year.
PCs Ireland, Munrow and the officer who cannot be named have been awarded Royal Humane Society Resuscitation Certificates. And PC Moody has been awarded one of the Society’s Certificates of Commendation.
The woman had phoned police saying she intended to hang herself. Police rushed to the address she had given and found her hanging and unresponsive.
They cut her down and then a defibrillator was brought to the scene. But when connected to the woman it advised that she should not be given shock treatment.
As a result the four officers began administering cardiac pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and the kiss of life. They continued with this until an ambulance arrived. The woman eventually regained consciousness.
Then, as she continued to recover she became violent towards the police and had to be sedated by the ambulance crew.
Thanks to the police efforts though she survived the ordeal and now, in addition to the awards they are to receive, the officers have also won the personal praise of Royal Humane Society Secretary, Andrew Chapman.
“Thankfully they reached the woman quickly and were able to cut her down and begin immediate treatment which brought her back from the brink of death.” he said.
“Unfortunately she wasn’t grateful at the time and rounded on the officers violently. They were tragic circumstances. I hope that she later came to appreciate what they did for her. The ambulance crew made it clear at the time that the only reason she survived was because of the actions of the officers.
“This is yet another case which emphasises the value of as many people as possible, not just members of the emergency services, learning how to administer CPR.
“I’m sure that most people who learn the technique probably hope they will never be called on to use it but, as this incident shows it can, as it did here, make the difference between life and death.”
The roots of the Royal Humane Society stretch back more than two centuries. The Queen is its patron and its president is Princess Alexandra.
It is the premier national body for honouring bravery in the saving of human life.