One officer and his dog save life in dramatic water rescue

AN ESSEX Police officer and his dog, who saved a man from icy water in a pond on a freezing January night, have both received a commendation.

PC Simon Newman – along with his six-year-old German Shepherd Studs – attended an incident in Dunmow in January 2015 after reports concerning a man’s welfare were received. After locating the man – who decided to jump in to the water – the pair saved his life.

The man was face down in the water and PC Newman began to worry that the man was trying to drown himself and knew that he needed to act quickly being in the middle of nowhere on his own.  He positioned Studs in a down at the edge of the bank and entered the water after the man.

He was able to reach the man quickly in the icy cold water roughly ten metres from the bank but the man tried to resist him whilst he tried to take him back to the bank.

PC Newman said: “This went on for what felt like ages but was probably seconds in reality. I tried to drag him back to the bank, but with him resisting me – he was as big as I am – it was a fair struggle. I managed to get him back to the bank and keep his head out of the water but I did not have the strength to get him up the bank.”

The bank itself was at a 45-degree angle and due to the struggle of getting the man out of the bank, it had become wet and slippery.

At this point, PD Studs realised what was happening and that his handler was struggling. He came forward to the edge of the bank and bit the man over the top of the shoulder to grab him.

PC Newman said: “Studs is 40kg of German Shepherd and is quite a powerful animal. He had a lovely hold on the man’s shoulder and with me pushing the man up and with Studs pulling him, we managed to pull him up the bank and clear of the water. I think Police Dog Studs’ bite on the man’s shoulder was what won the day.”

The pair then kept the man stable and warm whilst they waited for more officers and an ambulance. The ambulance team arrived quickly, they wrapped the man in foil blankets and took him to an awaiting ambulance.

For PC Newman, this is his second commendation. He said: “I’m proud of what I did that night. I believe that we saved the man’s life. I don’t believe that anybody else would have found him where he was, the helicopter certainly wouldn’t have seen him.

“He certainly would have been suffering from hyperthermia where he had been sat in the water before I found him and how cold it was, he would not have survived the night.”

“I did my job and we found him. I’m very proud of my dog. It’s what we train for and to have the dog come through for me in such a way was fantastic.”