Selfless police officers dived into river to save man who jumped from bridge
Three police officers have been praised for saving a man who jumped into a river in an attempt to take his own life.
PCs Oliver Langton, Jack Gascoigne and Connor Bluck put the safety of a stranger above their own as they saved a man from potentially drowning in a river after he tried to take his own life.
The three officers attended to the scene on St George’s Bridge in Doncaster following reports fo a man on the wrong side of the bridge. He repeatedly told them he didn’t want to live in any more, and when he jumped the officers raced to the riverbank to try to bring him back to safety.
PC Langton removed his heavy police body armour and utility belt to wade into the water despite knowing he was not a particularly strong swimmer.
A member of the public had spotted the man in the river and gone in to try and help, so PC Langton said he "did not want to let a member of the public put themselves in harm’s way while he stood idly by".
In fast-flowing water and with the man unresponsive and another member of public potentially at risk, PC Langton was able to reach them both and bring them to safety, alongside PC Gascoigne.
PC Bluck then attended to the man in distress, who was eventually taken away from the bank to receive support from fire crews and paramedics.
All three officers - and the member of public who helped - have since been presented with awards from the Royal Humane Society (RHS), a charity which recognises the heroic acts of bravery.
Andrew Jackson, secretary of the RHS, praised PCs Langton, Gascoigne and Bluck for their “magnificent impromptu teamwork”.
Doncaster District Commander Chief Superintendent Pete Thorp said: "The primary duty of police officers is to preserve life and that is exactly what PCs Langton, Gascoigne and Bluck did in this challenging set of circumstances.
"Every officer displayed selflessness and bravery in this incident to genuinely save a life and their actions typify what policing is really about.
"They should all be immensely proud of what they did, and I am grateful to the Royal Humane Society for recognising their life-saving actions.
"We often don't get the chance to share some of the demanding, harrowing and traumatic situations our officers have to deal with it, and it's important these actions are recognised and applauded."