Police officer nominated for award over thug’s arrest

Pc Louise Smith was hours away from the end of her last shift before going on leave to get married when she responded to a report of an alarm going off at a curtain shop in Grimsby. On reaching the back door of the shop along a narrow, unlit alleyway, Pc Smith saw it had been forced open and saw a man rummaging through computer equipment.

She grabbed him as he tried to run away and the man produced a claw hammer and raised it above her head.

The officer grabbed his arm thinking she was about to be seriously assaulted and the robber bit her wrist, causing “excruciating” pain and forcing her to let go.

Despite being assaulted and confronted by a physically stronger person with a potentially lethal weapon, the constable pursued the man and grabbed him again as they emerged into the street, where other police officers who were arriving helped to arrest him.

The burglar, a prolific offender who had just been released from prison, said in an interview that he could not remember the incident as he had been under the influence of drugs at the time.

Insp Steve Garmston, chairman of Humberside Police Federation, praised Pc Smith’s courage and said she was a credit to the service.

He said: “Louise’s actions were instinctive and fearless and she demonstrated all that is good about the British police service that day.

“She overcame a potentially life threatening and terrifying situation with selfless determination to prevail. Her professionalism is a credit to herself and the service, especially so as she jeopardised her own priorities in terms of her imminent wedding and put herself in harm’s way.”

The Police Bravery Awards scheme is an annual event to honour officers in England and Wales. Pc Smith will find out if she has won in a ceremony at the Savoy hotel in London on July 7.