Essex PC detains man during half-marathon in New York

SPEEDY work from an Essex Police officer has led to the arrest of a man wanted by the New York Police Department.

PC Alex Courts (pictured second on the left) was in Central Park, New York, running a half-marathon for a children’s cancer charity, when he spotted a man fleeing from NYPD officers.

“I was about 10 miles into the half-marathon when I saw someone making a mad dash from officers” said PC Courts. “I didn’t know it at the time, but the man had been causing anti-social behaviour and disturbing members of the public.”

PC Courts, based at Loughton Police Station, promptly gave chase and rugby-tackled the man to the ground, restraining him until NYPD officers arrived.

“I was in the right place at the right time” said PC Courts. “I acted as any other police officer would have in the same situation.”

Approximately 20 officers from Essex Police were in New York alongside colleagues from the Metropolitan Police and British Transport Police to raise money for ‘Jack’s Pack – Police Against Cancer in Kids’.

All officers paid for the trip themselves and the money raised went towards the cost of giving children with cancer potentially life-saving treatment.