Officer injured on duty says ‘Protect the Protectors isn’t working’

PC Sam Woods, who works on the drugs team in Wakefield, suffered a serious head injury when she was slammed into a car while trying to arrest a suspect last month.

As well as the large gash on her forehead, which required stitches and has left her with a scar, PC Woods suffered injuries to her leg and arm.

Ms Lynch was one of the primary campaigners for the Assaults On Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018.

But PC Woods claimed “Protect the Protectors isn’t working”.

She said there needed to be tougher sentences for offenders who assault police officers, adding: “It’s going to get worse and worse, as people think they can get away with it, because the sentences aren’t there.

“I think that, in recent years, policing has become a very hard job to do without it being dangerous, because the respect for the police has gone.

“I wanted to talk to MPs because this happens day in and day out, and it doesn’t seem to be getting any better. I want to tell them about the dangers we face as police officers.

“I’m quite lucky, I work on a small team and we always work double-crewed. But I know from being a frontline officer and single-crewed that it’s dangerous.

“I don’t know what it’s going to take before MPs realise the dangers we have to put ourselves through. We’re normal people. I go to work and do the job because I love it. But when things like this happen, you think: is it worth putting yourself through that for a job?”

PC Woods said she did not immediately realise how badly she’d been injured during the incident.

“It all went black and then it was like I was back in the room,” she said. “It was a weird feeling, because I didn’t feel any pain in my head, but when I put my hand on my head I could feel liquid. I pulled my phone out and took a picture, so I could see what injuries I had.

“When I saw the gash, I thought, ‘This is quite serious’. Luckily, an ambulance was with us within a couple of minutes. They didn’t know if I had any spinal injuries, so treated it quite seriously. They bandaged my head up, and I was feeling confused and a bit dazed at that point.

“There were injuries to my leg and arm as well, but no bone damage – I just had torn muscles and bruising.”

After the incident, PC Woods said she struggled to sleep and suffered from headaches and brain fog. She has now gone back to work, but is still not fully operational, adding that she was apprehensive about returning to full duties.

PC Woods said: “It’s one of those situations where it couldn’t really be avoided in the job that I do. It could easily happen again.

“I didn’t want to show my mum the picture of my head to start with, because now she’ll phone me sometimes and say ‘how’s work been today?’. I think it gave my parents a shock that I potentially might not come home from work.”

She added: “My scar has healed really well. People come up to me and say ‘oh you won’t even see it, it’s fine’. But inside, I feel, ‘but you can see it. It’s always going to be there, and it shouldn’t be there’.”

PC Woods grew up in Wakefield and said she wanted to help combat the drug problem there, especially as she had lost school friends after they had become addicted to heroin.

“I know the effects it can have on people,” she said. “We’re never going to get rid of drugs altogether. But even if it’s just helping one or two people and getting them out of that situation.

“It’s not about the money, because we don’t get paid brilliantly. But I do it because I love the job. I love helping people and bringing people to justice.”

West Yorkshire Police Federation chair Craig Nicholls said he had brought PC Woods to Parliament to meet Ms Lynch as it was really important that the MP could see the injury to police officers that happens every single day.

“There’s been a loss of connection between the legislation and the Ministry of Justice,” he said.

“We want to emphasise that message to Parliament and those key people who can drive that legislation with the Ministry of Justice.”

Mr Nicholls added: “The timescales for police officer assaults getting to court are getting longer and longer too. We’re seeing officers being let down, time and time again.

“Sam is a really good, conscientious officer who’s gone to work to do her job, and has ended up with a significant head injury.

“I want MPs to see that Sam is a real person, a member of the community, and somebody who is trying to do her best within the area that she works.”