Community

Cops saved the life of a violent man

Published

5 years ago

February 5, 2020

A TEAM west Wales of police officers have been commended for putting their own lives at risk to save a man who was threatening to jump from a roof.

The Dyfed-Powys Police colleagues spent several hours in a tiny attic space trying to talk the man down, while he both attacked them and threatened to throw himself to his death.

Police had been called to Carmarthen on May 15, 2019, to carry out enquiries linked with a wanted man. On arriving at the scene, the man smashed his way onto a roof with a knife and could be seen running across the tops of four properties.

During a protracted incident, and in testing circumstances, officers ended up kicking through the roof to bring the man to safety. Their decisive action and composure ensured a safe resolution to a highly dangerous situation.

In recognition, 12 officers attended the force’s commendation evening on Tuesday, January 28.

Looking back at the incident, firearms officer PC Scott Patrick, said: “I have been in the job for 23 years, and this was by far the hairiest incident I have been involved in.

“Two of us were called to relieve the officers inside, and we went into the attic hatch where Inspector Reuben Palin had been for a few hours talking to the man on the roof.

“This man was on recall to prison, and obviously didn’t want to go back. He was highly emotional and the fear wasn’t that he was going to jump as he was threatening, but that actually he was going to fall off the roof as it was dark and quite slippery.”

Making the treacherous situation even more difficult to deal with, the man took out a Kinder Egg stuffed with drugs and consumed the contents. It was unclear what he had taken, but within minutes he became drowsy and his speech was affected.

The officers knew they needed to get him to safety quickly.

“He had pulled himself through a very small hole in the roof, and Reuben got him to put his leg back through so we could grab hold of it,” PC Patrick said.

“We didn’t know how he would react, but when he knew what was happening he started thrashing around and throwing his weight back.

“Three of us were holding onto his leg, and he started trying to take his trousers off to get away from us. It was exhausting trying to keep hold of him, and we were getting into a really precarious situation – it was boom or bust.”

The three officers were working in testing conditions – cramped into a small and dusty attic, and working by moonlight. They knew they would need to break through the roof, and PC Patrick motioned for colleagues below to pass up a saw.

“I grabbed it and cut through the batons, then kicked the roof through to get to him,” he said. “It was outside our normal working practice, but he had told us he’d taken heroin and sleeping pills, and it was getting really dangerous.”

PC Patrick tried to reason with the man, but he got more irate and picked up pieces of broken slate from the roof to use as a weapon.

“He started using it as a knife, coming down towards my neck,” the PC said. “I took out my taser, and he clenched enough for us to grab and cuff him. It was a massive relief to get him down after all that time.”

The man was helped out of the attic and was taken to hospital for treatment, while officers regrouped for a full de-brief.

“For me, the decisive moment was when Reuben made the call to go from a constant dialogue with the suspect, to saying under his breath ‘grab his leg’. He was the hero of the moment. If the man had fallen, he would have done himself catastrophic damage, and Reuben’s call was pivotal in ensuring we got him down safely,” PC Patrick said.

In recognition of the decisions made under tough conditions and swift action taken by all involved in the incident, the following officers have been commended for the parts they played:

Operational firearms commander PC Emyr Thomas, PC Glenn White (retired), PC Scott Patrick, Inspector Reuben Palin, Chief Inspector Jonathan Rees, Sgt Phillip Jones, PC Matthew Roach, PC Elinor Evans, PC Mike Andrews, PC Samuel Phillips and South Wales Police officers PC Julian Knoyle and PC Steven Fox.

Business

Derelict Cilgerran house to be transformed into cafe

Published

3 hours ago

December 23, 2024

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

PLANS by a village shop owner to convert a house “in a state of disrepair” to a café to “improve the variety of community facilities” locally have been given the go-ahead.

Mrs Morris, through agent Harries Planning Design Management, sought permission from Pembrokeshire County Council to convert The Old Post House, High Street, Cilgerran, currently a four-bed dwelling, to a ground floor café, along with a first-floor flat.

The application received five letters of support, saying it would provide local jobs, support the community, promote Welsh and local food, and provide a local community hub, with three letters of objection, raising concerns about parking and traffic, and potential odours from the premises.

A supporting statement, through the agent, said: “The proposed site is currently a dwellinghouse, in current need of modernisations and renovations throughout. The site is under the same ownership as the neighbouring village stores Siop Y Pentre,” saying the proposal “can be read as an extension to the existing Siop Y Pentre”.

“Siop Y Pentre is a thriving local community village shop which acts as a village hub. The shop provides local residents with day-to-day necessities, with a focus on local, sustainable and minimal waste products,” the statement says, adding the dwelling it seeks to convert “is in disrepair and in need of internal works to make suitable for modern living”.

It went on to say: “The proposed café seeks to retain its focus on local and seasonal produce with minimal waste and would provide a welcomed opportunity for socialising, especially during the daytime. The café will also seek to employ local staff retaining a community feel throughout. As such, the principle of the café adjacent to the existing village store is considered acceptable. The site seeks to encourage a sustainable community, with development of an appropriate scale and nature.

“Further to this, the location of the development is within the settlement boundary and seeks to fulfil a need for day-time socialising environments currently lacking within Cilgerran.”

The application was conditionally approved by county planners.

Community

Emergency call outage affected Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire

Published

3 hours ago

December 23, 2024

Tom Sinclair

RESIDENTS in parts of Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire faced difficulties contacting emergency services via the 999 landline number on Sunday (Dec 17) due to a temporary outage.

Dyfed-Powys Police issued alerts on social media, warning residents of potential issues when trying to dial 999 from landlines in affected areas. Locations impacted included Pembroke, Manorbier, Carew, and surrounding areas.

In a statement, police advised: “You may have faced problems calling 999 from a landline in the Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire area. Places likely to have been affected were Pembroke, Manorbier, Carew. Please try calling from a mobile phone as mobile networks may have been working normally. Normal service will be restored as soon as possible. Non-emergencies can be reported online. Please look out for further updates.”

Later in the day, an update confirmed that the 999 landline service had been restored in the Llangrannog and Llanteg areas.

The temporary disruption raised concerns about access to emergency services in rural areas, where mobile coverage can sometimes be unreliable.

Authorities urged residents to remain vigilant and use alternative communication methods in the event of future disruptions. Further updates are expected as investigations into the cause of the outage continue.

For non-emergency issues, residents can continue to report incidents via the Dyfed-Powys Police website or contact their local police station directly.

Community

Police and council in collaborative effort to tackle fly grazing

Published

3 hours ago

December 23, 2024

Tom Sinclair

IT WAS confirmed this week Pembrokeshire County council is teaming up with Dyfed-Powys Police in a bid to tackle a growing problem of horses on public areas in the county.

The move comes after the County has witnessed a significant increase in incidents of horses being left on public land and highways – known as fly-grazing.

Over the Christmas period the agencies will work operationally in a collaborative effort to alleviate the issue.

This joint approach is in response to community concerns and part of a wider initiative that will enable partner agencies to effectively address with the issue.

Members of the public can report fly grazing concerns by contacting [email protected] or 01437 764551.