Tour of duty - Saturday 18th August 2018 

I have served with my force for approaching 2 and a bit years. My last blog documented a ride-along in February 2016 before I joined. It is interesting reading a blog pre and post joining.

It is 9 pm I begin work with a trudge to my night shift.  I had been on the rota to be doing a late shift but was moved to cover a lack of resourcing. I am very tired. Early shifts straight into night shifts without a shift to transition body clock is always unpleasant and difficult.

I sat down at the briefing. Comically we were not able to brief properly due computer problems, and the night springing forth with immediate jobs before we even deployed to the town. This was a sign of things to come. The first arrest of the night by the team was a male for Drunk and Disorderly and Criminal Damage at a premise on the edge of town. I sat and listened but there were sufficient resources at this time fortunately so I grabbed keys, sorted out a few bits before the night got underway.
Later we deployed with my crewmate to the town. I was on driving duties as knowing the area a bit better than my crewmate who had been plucked from a different area. First port of call was to get a coffee from a certain establishment, namely high-quality service station coffee

The night rolled on. Just past midnight, a call was received of a fight in progress at a pub in the town. We called up and made on immediate as the first unit on scene. The situation was chaotic, with there appearing to be a fight or a commotion going on inside, with the door-staff pulling people one by one out of the building. They pointed out an aggressive male who had blood on his face, with door-staff stating he had been involved in a fight. We placed him against the area next to the door to try and calm him down and talk to him. I request a unit to assist with crowd control and observe more people being plucked out of the building by door-staff who are eager to present the involved.
As I return to the male to assist my crewmate who was speaking to him but getting nowhere due to the male's level of intoxication and agitation, a unit arrives to assist with the other persons involved. Shortly after this, the male who we were talking to firstly lashes out past my head and catches the side of my head with his arm. I later learn that he was trying to assault somebody else who was stood behind me out of my line of sight. He is taken to the ground and I make the first official town arrest of the evening for Assaulting a Police Officer. No injury or pain but a glancing blow, fortunately. I later learn he was involved in another assault and later further arrested for that.

After the fellow was taken to custody and booked in,  I suggested we return to the town to assist and carry on patrol. Another mistake, this would come back later. Should have stayed to do the duty-statement and had a breather and perhaps the evening would have played out differently maybe.

...Should have stayed at the station.

We return to the town and continue mobile patrol. Later in the night, we received a call from door-staff at an establishment requesting assistance with a fight in progress. We make on immediate. Pull up and I put the high-vis jacket on so that cameras can track us and then make our way to the club.

The sounds of shouting and swearing is always a good sign, right? 🙄
I arrive to see another crewing identifying a male who was allegedly involved in an assault. He stands his ground and his friends / other patrons who had been inside the club are huddled around him preventing the police officers on scene going hands on. I start prizing people away from the male try to give them space and so that they can affect the arrest. I pull 2/3 people away who form their own group and then start to swear shout and attempt to obstruct the crew. The other crew deploy incapacitant spray which goes everywhere as always and is struggling to get him down to the ground and under control.
The crew get to the floor with their suspect, and other officers, including myself, forming a perimeter to hold back the crowd of varying builds attempting to aggress the officers and stop my colleagues arresting their friend. Threats of violence are made to me and some of the males begin rolling up their sleeves. And one threatens to 'destroy' me, or something derived. Some people have belts and shirts off around us and multiple danger signs in front . Swearing continues and the males refuse to move back. I stand my ground.
I repeat for the males to get back until my voice is blown. I am fairly isolated at the top of the perimeter with a crewmate to my right. At one stage I believe I was surrounded on 2 sides. The males refuse to comply and continue to approach. I push multiple people back countless times but this only angers them more. They return and I draw my incapacitant spray. I threaten to captor them if they do not move back, and am forced to deploy a burst to the face of one of the males which splash another after the verbal command fails. He immediately backs away and it appears to have an effect. The situation is tense with aggressive friends of the male still intent to cause violence or obstruct. During the situation, I heard an emergency shout on the radio from behind me. Two of the persons in front of me have fallen back with the effects of the captor. I also pushed my emergency button during the affray, I hear the troops being rustled on the radio and everybody and their mums are making on immediate. Was close to drawing my baton.
More units arrive and the males start to back away. The situation is tense but as more police arrive to maintain a presence. A strange sensation being there, adrenaline pumping. I anticipated coming to harm but control was restored. I have not had to use captor before today, but I am thankful it worked this time. My bodyworn footage will make interesting viewing I am sure.

I remain on scene for a while until the arrested persons are conveyed away from the scene. We took the details from a door-staff member assaulted during the preliminary incident, and I seized the CCTV from the club. Whilst we were inside, there is another fracas outside with two groups of girls making allegations against each other.

We return to patrol later and are then deployed to another town down the road to the sounds of an affray taking place outside another premise, timed perfectly at kicking out time at the main town. There are reports that a male has been run over. After a 15 minute immediate drive, We arrive on the scene, another unit has already made an arrest for an unknown offence of a person at the scene relating to a fight. We make our way to the person on the floor injured across the road, he has friends and family around him and is conscious and breathing. An ambulance arrives shortly after. I take details of the witnesses.

At 6:30 am ish, we arrive back at the nick after a tactical food and coffee stop (We know we are going to be late off) I split with my crewmate and we each write up our different jobs from the night, statements, documentation, investigation handovers, body-worn.

I eventually clock off an hour and a half late off. Absolutely knackered.