Leicester police officer talks about his fears after knife attack

A Leicestershire police officer says he fears he will be attacked again after being attacked with a knife.

PC Mohammed Ahmed, 39, suffered a facial injury when he was called to an incident in Beaumont Leys Lane, Leicester, on September 22.

Data obtained by the BBC through a Freedom of Information Act request suggests that 971 police officers were attacked in Leicestershire last year.

“I was lucky that my injuries were not as bad as they could have been,” said PC Ahmed.

He added: “I always think this could happen again if a knife is mentioned on a job.”

Earlier this month, PC Ahmed, who was off work for four weeks following the attack, was nominated for a Police Bravery Award.

He said: “It was a normal Thursday night. I was working in the city centre and received a report that a man had been seen with a knife.

“He attacked my colleague first and then me. He hit me with a knife in his hand and it hit me right under my eye. I also broke my nose.

“It is only in retrospect that one realizes the enormity of it.

“We don’t go to work to be attacked, and it’s almost accepted that we will be attacked by certain people.”

The FOI request, seen by the BBC, reveals that the number of attacks on officers in the county has tripled in five years.

Police Commissioner Rob Nixon called the increase in attacks on police officers a “worrying trend,” but said the increase was partly due to police becoming better at documenting incidents.

He added: “Any attack or violence against a paramedic is completely unacceptable.”

“It should never become socially acceptable. It should not become the norm.”

“We will always seek prosecution against those who commit crimes against public officials.”

“We should never forget the courage and sacrifice we see every day from police officers who go out and put themselves in danger to protect the public, and often they don’t get the recognition for it.”

PC Niamh Harriman, 25, has worked for Leicestershire Police for the past six years and was hit by a car in January.

“The woman was sitting in the driver’s seat and attempted to put the key in the ignition. She started the vehicle, put it in reverse and drove over my right foot,” said PC Harriman.

“The tire went over my right side. My colleagues saw the incident from a distance, I pressed the emergency button and went to the hospital for examination.”

Dakota Henton, aged 29, of Dodsworth Close, Leicester, pleaded guilty to two counts of assaulting a paramedic – PC Harriman and PC Toby Wilson – as well as refusing to provide a sample for analysis, dangerous driving and driving without a licence.

Henton was sentenced to 52 weeks in prison, suspended for 18 months.

“I sprained my hip and then had a lot of bruising on my right foot. I’m more scared of going to incidents now,” added PC Harriman.

“It’s the last thing you expect, but it happens a lot in this profession. I returned to work after a three-week absence.

“The longer I had off, the more impatient I became to return.”