An Essex Police officer who saved the life of a crashed motorist by giving him mouth to mouth during the height of the COVID-19 lockdown has won an Essex Police Federation Bravery Award.<\/p>\n
PC Cornelius Bowen, a Children and Young Person officer covering Clacton and Jaywick, had been on his way to a youth team meeting in May 2020 when he came across a vehicle crashed into a hedge after appearing to plough off the road in Clacton.<\/p>\n
Stopping to investigate, PC Bowen peered into the driver\u2019s side of the car to see a man slumped forward and unconscious but breathing.<\/p>\n
PC Bowen radioed in for ambulance assistance, but the man\u2019s pulse quickly disappeared as he slipped into cardiac shock.<\/p>\n
Immediately realising he had to act fast to save the listless man\u2019s life, PC Bowen pulled him clear of the vehicle before administering emergency CPR, despite not having any PPE on him.<\/p>\n
PC Bowen kept giving the life-saving treatment for around 15 minutes until paramedics arrived to take over and eventually take the man onto Colchester Hospital.<\/p>\n
Thanks to PC Bowen\u2019s quick actions, the man made a full recovery.<\/p>\n
PC Bowen was determined not to miss his meeting despite the dramatic incident and still attended, albeit a few minutes late.<\/p>\n
Ambulance crews later told PC Bowen\u2019s bosses that he had undoubtedly saved the man\u2019s life.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously, I wasn\u2019t expecting the incident, and I wasn\u2019t responding to a call,\u201d PC Bowen said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just happened to be driving by. [The incident] hadn\u2019t been reported to the police yet, so I was the first on the scene.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour training takes over. It\u2019s just so quick. Seconds really. Training took over, and I didn\u2019t really think about it much. It was a cardiac arrest, so I knew I had to do CPR.<\/p>\n
\u201cI found out weeks later that he made a full recovery, which was good obviously, and it\u2019s nice to be recognised [in the Awards].\u201d<\/p>\n
Laura Heggie, Chair of Essex Police Federation, said PC Bowen had courageously stepped forward to try and save the man’s life despite the potential risks he faced.<\/p>\n
\u201cCon didn\u2019t let the fact that he didn\u2019t have PPE with him from tackling this situation and doing everything he could to save his man,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to remember what a scary time this was for everyone \u2013 not knowing the risk this killer virus could have on us. And our friends and families.<\/p>\n
\u201cCon dismisses his work as just doing his job, but it went beyond that. He put himself at risk to save this man\u2019s life, and he should be very proud of that fact.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a very worthy winner of an Essex Police Federation Bravery Award.\u201d<\/p>\n
PC Bowen will attend the Essex Police Federation Bravery Awards on 26 May where an overall winner will be announced.<\/p>\n
The Awards are in Association with Uniform Mortgages. The hashtag for the event is #EssexFedBravery.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"