WO police officers from Three Mile Cross have been honoured for their bravery and quick-thinking which saved two people’s lives.
PC James Baker and PC Alex Gillett, who are both based at Three Mile Cross Police Station, joined 20 other colleagues from Thames Valley Police to be recognised for excellent service and courage when confronted with some truly daunting scenes by the Joint Operations Unit (JOU).
The officers and members of staff, as well as one police dog, were honoured at a ceremony at the Sulhamstead police training centre on Thursday, October 5.
PC Baker was recognised after he responded to a motorist who had collapsed behind the wheel in Rushey Way, Earley.
PC Baker was patrolling the area with a colleague on October 11 last year when he came across a vehicle that was parked inappropriately. As PC Baker and his colleague approached the vehicle, they noticed that the man sitting behind the wheel appeared to be asleep. The officers attempted to wake the driver but he did not respond. They quickly determined that he was unwell and they called up for medical assistance.
The officers recognised that the driver was suffering from some kind of seizure and they quickly placed him onto the ground and into the recovery position. They then noticed the driver had stopped breathing and so commenced life-saving CPR before ambulance staff arrived.
While the driver was taken to hospital, PC Baker and his colleague took the man’s vehicle safely back to his home address. They then attended the hospital to meet the driver’s wife to drop off the car keys and check on his progress. The man subsequently went on to make a full recovery.
PC Alex Gillett was commended after he performed life-saving CPR on a 12-year-old boy.
On May 10, 2016, PC Gillett responded to a call that a boy had gone into cardiac arrest. Together with paramedics, PC Gillett performed emergency first aid and played a crucial role in reviving the boy following several minutes of CPR.
PC Gillett’s enhanced first aid skills played a significant part in the casualty being successfully resuscitated. He was airlifted to hospital where his condition was reported as stable.
Throughout this incident, PC Gillett provided considerable assistance to paramedics in the performance of CPR and setting up of vital medical equipment, acting quickly and decisively, and utilising his enhanced training to save the boy’s life.
Chief Supt. Williams said: “Being able to celebrate the outstanding bravery and dedication of our officers and staff is a great honour.
“Despite being confronted with armed suspects or faced with harrowing life or death situations, these officers have not hesitated to do their very best for the protection of others.
“Our officers and staff within the JOU are deployed to some of the most challenging and often dangerous incidents due to their expertise in specialist areas and it makes me extremely proud to see how they go above and beyond to help make our communities safer.”
