A serving police officer has described the moment he was attacked on duty as The Gazette shines a light on the rise of assaults on our emergency services.  

As previously reported, there has been a surge in attacks on police officers in the past year with 1,241 incidents recorded in the last 12 months. 

This week, The Gazette has spoken exclusively to a 26-year-old police constable who was punched and left in a pool of blood just 11 shifts into his role. 

PC Sam Harrington joined the Hampshire Constabulary in 2015 and worked in a number of roles including as a staff investigator in Basingstoke before he became a police constable in June 2019.  

But less than a month into his job, he was assaulted on-duty in an incident at a secure unit for young people which “came out of nowhere”.  

PC Harrington received a call from the control room that a teenager was going on a “rampage” leaving people barricading themselves in their rooms out of fear.  

“The incident was described by the control room as a criminal damage incident in progress,” he told The Gazette.  

“They told us that people were barricading themselves in their rooms because a 17-year-old boy was going on a rampage and destroying things.” 

When arriving at the scene alongside his tutor, PC Harrington said it looked ordinary from the outside. “The house itself looked like a normal terrace but it was actually a secure unit for independent living which housed young people who typically had history of getting in trouble with the police.” 

Describing the perpetrator, he said: “The best way I can describe him is aloof. He didn’t want to speak to me really but there was no concern around him in terms of him being angry or kicking off. 

“We are trained to recognise warning signs of clenched fists and people going silent which alerts us that they could become violent.” 

After speaking to staff at the house, police had enough information to arrest the 17-year-old for causing criminal damage.  

“He was very, very, very, calm. There were zero warning signs,” PC Harrington said.  

“He was just dillydallying putting out a cigarette. Then out of nowhere there was a right hook to my face I fell backwards and there was blood everywhere. 

“He then went to put his hands around my neck but another officer pushed him inside of the house. 

“The male then assaulted one of the other officers by hitting him hard around the back of the head. 

“Eventually we managed to restrain him on the floor but for the entire time he was swearing fighting kicking out and punching.” 

The attack left PC Harrington with a suspected broken nose. 

He said: “I was thinking at the time, this is just a part of the job but it absolutely isn’t.”  

“It was an awful situation to be in it and it obviously felt horrendous but my concern quickly turned to how I was going to tell my family.” 

Speaking about the wider implications of the assault, he said it had left his family feeling nervous for his safety when going to work. 

He said: “The impact is bigger on the people around you I think because I had a bruise and a wonky nose but how it impacts your family and how they feel about going back to work is massive. 

The assault caused such a bleed that he had to take his kit home to wash the blood from it. 

“I had to take all my kit home because it was absolutely smothered in blood, my cuffs wouldn’t rotate because all the notches were so caked in blood.” 

Sam’s attacker pleaded guilty to assault and the court issued him a youth referral order which he claims hasn’t happened because of the pandemic. 

PC Harrington said he believes that any attacks on emergency service workers should result in prison sentences. 

He said: “I didn’t get any compensation and to me the referral order was utterly ridiculous. There was no deterrent to him or anyone else. 

“I think custodial sentences are needed for attacks on all emergency workers.” 

The Gazette is shining a light of attacks on our emergency service workers, following the death of PC Harper in August 2019 and a number of assaults on officers in Basingstoke and the wider Hampshire region in recent months. 

If you would like to speak to a reporter in confidence, email newsdesk@basingstokegazette.co.uk.