Bravery nomination for Dorset officer attacked with hammer

A Dorset Police officer who was badly injured as she tackled an aggressive hammer-wielding thug who was threatening members of the public has been nominated for The National Police Bravery Awards.

PC Roz Fricker, who was a probationary officer at the time of the incident, will now join more than 90 colleagues from across England and Wales nominated for their courageous acts at the prestigious Awards Event in London.

Roz was seriously injured during the incident and had to spend 5 months away from the frontline while she recovered. She said:

"It's really nice. I can't help feeling that surely there's officers out there that have been in far worse situations.

"I feel absolutely priviledged that they've nominated me."

What happened?

It was back in April 2018, when PC Fricker was responding to call of a serious disturbance in a block of flats. When she arrived, everything appeared quiet, and she radioed back to control to let them know.

However, a member of the public then ushered her over and as PC Fricker went over to see what they wanted she suddenly heard a man behind her shouting aggressively and kicking at people’s front doors. She turned to see a tall slim man holding a pole and clearly concealing something behind his back.

He began to march towards her all the while swearing at and threatening the officer. As he got near PC Fricker, the man revealed the hammer behind his back and raised it as if to try and strike her. PC Fricker immediately put her hands up to try and defuse the situation and to speak to the man to try and calm him down.

He was having none of it and refused to put the hammer down, instead swinging it towards the officer.

PC Fricker realised her life, and possibly the life of nearby members of the public were at severe risk and managed to call for assistance before drawing her PAVA spray.

The man didn’t back off and instead goaded her to Taser him, not something PC Fricker had as part of her PPE kit. The man again swung the hammer at her, this time striking a severe blow to her shoulder. Incredibly she managed to deploy her PAVA, but the irritant only served to incense her assailant further.

Speaking to Greatest Hits, Roz said:

"When I got hit with the hammer, I knew I was hit and I felt the pain. But, all I could think of 'Oh, it wasn't my head' because that's what I felt he was aiming for.

"So, it was almost like I'd got away with that."

He was still in an agitated state and started bouncing around before he ran off towards some parked cars which he began to smash up with his hammer.

Despite being in severe pain, PC Fricker followed him and updated colleagues on the radio who by now were close by. After a quick search, PC Fricker and a colleague found the thug cowering behind a parked car and despite his violent attempts to resist detention, the officers managed to get him under control.

As well as the hammer, the officers discovered he was in possession of a metal mallet and a total of seven knives hidden in his clothing, including a blade stashed in an orange foam tennis ball.

PC Fricker suffered a hematoma and a prolapsed disc in the horrific attack and was away from the frontline for five months as she recovered.

Awards ceremony

The National Police Bravery Awards honour officers across England and Wales and take place in London in July 2021.

The prestigious daytime reception was set to take place this summer, but has been pushed back due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Dorset Police Federation Chair Anna Harvey said PC Fricker had shown extraordinary courage and professionalism:

“First and foremost, Roz got this violent and extremely aggressive man off the streets, despite suffering severe injury,” Anna said.

“The incident could have quite easily ended in tragedy was it not for our colleague’s bravery and determination to get the job done and her extraordinary care and concern for her community. She did not take a backward step.

“Thank you, Roz. We are very proud of you.”