Smoke grenade thrown at Nottinghamshire police officer

It's the latest in a "noted increase in assaults on emergency workers"

File photo of a smoke bomb
Author: Alex MeakinPublished 9th Aug 2021

A Nottinghamshire police officer was injured when a smoke grenade was thrown at her feet on Saturday night (August 7th).

It happened as officers arrive in Lord Nelson St in Sneinton to reports of a disturbance.

As they arrived a man threw a lit smoke grenade towards them hitting an officer on the foot, causing a flame to run up her leg causing pain.

The device then filled a police car with smoke.

A 46-yer-old suspect has been arrested on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker and possessing an offensive weapon.

Nottinghamshire police say "There has been a noted increase in assaults on emergency workers over recent months".

In two other separate incidents on Saturday two more officers were injured while working to keep residents safe.

One suffered a thumb injury while being dragged to the ground by a man who was deal arrest on suspicion of dealing crack and heroin. The incident happened in Mill St, Old Basford at 6:45pm on Friday.

Another suffered a cut to his head, which required gluing, when a suspect allegedly lashed out after officers challenged him for urinating on someone's garden fence in Nottingham Road, Gotham.

Assistant Chief Constable Steve Cooper said this latest incident was just as shocking as the others.

He said: “To throw a lit smoke grenade at a police officer was both irresponsible and dangerous.

“It is utterly appalling that officers are being subjected to abuse and violence as they carry out their work on the front line.

“These people work tirelessly to serve and protect the public and are carrying out vital duties to investigate crimes, treat people for health concerns and keep our communities safe from harm.

"We have repeatedly stressed that this is not just part of the job and any assault on emergency workers – physical or verbal - will be treated as a crime and dealt with accordingly."