Merseyside Police has thanked the heroic actions of the public who rushed to help an officer who was "dragged along the road".
Assistant Chief Constable Paul White praised members of the public in St Helens who ran to help an officer who sustained serious injuries to his shoulder and wrist after he was dragged along the road by a van. The officer approached a vehicle to carry out a search after a backpack suspected to contain cannabis was found at around 8.15pm on Hewitt Avenue, St Helens.
When the constable reached the vehicle the driver drove away, dragging the officer along the road. The officer sustained a serious injury to his shoulder and wrist and is receiving treatment in hospital where his condition is described as stable.
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Speaking to the ECHO at Merseyside Police HQ, Assistant Chief Constable White extended his thanks to the members of the public who came to the officer's aid immediately after the incident. The assistant chief constable said: "I want to thank the public for a number of reasons last night.
"Firstly for calling the incident in in the first place, and then supporting the officer who was injured at the time. Numerous members of the public provided aid so we're very grateful for that.
"And then I also want to thank the public who called in the males acting suspiciously in the field nearby that enabled us to arrest them so a big thank you to all those in the St Helens community who helped us last night."
Two men from Rochdale, aged 26 and 30, were arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm with intent after they were spotted running from a van left on Ecclesfield Road into nearby fields. The 30-year-old was also arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply cocaine and cannabis.
Assistant Chief Constable White added officers should never have to tolerate violence when protecting the people of Merseyside. He said: "All officers accept the risk in their day-to-day job but what is totally unacceptable is when they sustain injuries such as this.
"It has a huge impact on officers physically and psychologically, it has an impact on their colleagues, their community, and of course their family. We're offering support to all those groups of people so that support will continue for the days ahead."
The assistant chief constable wanted to reassure the people of St Helens that the incident wouldn't stop officers maintaining a presence in their community. He told the ECHO : "We'll continue to provide high visibility patrols in that particular area and continue to clamp down on criminal activity - and that's our ongoing commitment to all communities in Merseyside."
