Dudley police officer honoured for bringing woman back from brink of death
PC Levi Abbotts rushed to a cell at Oldbury police station after hearing an alarm.
A Dudley based police officer has been awarded a top national life saving honour for bringing a suicidal woman back from the brink of death.
PC Levi Abbotts rushed to a cell at Oldbury police station after hearing an alarm.
He saw the woman was no longer able to breathe after attempting to strangle herself and stepped in.
Now PC Abbott’s has been awarded a Royal Humane Society Resuscitation Certificate and has won the personal praise of Andrew Chapman, secretary of the society, for his swift, life-saving action at nearly 4am on June 6 this year.
Mr Chapman said: “PC Abbott did a great job and richly deserves the award he is to receive.
“However, it’s worth mentioning here that there are many incidents where lives are saved and those involved never receive awards they deserve because their names have never been put forward.
“We appeal to members of the public if they hear of incidents in which lives have been saved, sometimes in circumstances where the life savers have put their own lives in danger, to bring them to our attention.”
The roots of the Royal Humane Society stretch back nearly 250 years. Other than awards made by the Crown it is the premier national body for honouring bravery in the saving of human life.
It was founded in 1774 by two of the day's eminent medical men, William Hawes and Thomas Cogan. Their primary motive was to promote techniques of resuscitation.
However, as it emerged that numerous people were prepared to put their own lives at risk to save others, the awards scheme evolved, and today a variety of awards are made depending on the bravery involved.