An off-duty police officer who was enjoying a night away with his wife intervened after a man threatened to choke his partner to death.
PC Ryan Prince was staying at a hotel in the city centre with his wife when at around 2am, he heard someone screaming in the corridor.
He left the room to find a woman in distress. She had reported that her partner had attempted to strangle her during an argument.
PC Prince immediately contacted the police control room and began to separate the male from his partner after he made threats to kill, which included ‘I’ll choke her until she dies.’
Being off-duty, and having no protective gear, he could tell the man was in an erratic state and under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
He also attempted to speak to the victim and bring her back into the room.
PC Prince and his wife managed to keep them separated until uniformed police arrived 10 minutes later.
A 34-year-old man, from Shropshire, was arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm and taken into custody.
PC Prince remained with the victim throughout the ordeal as she felt comfortable speaking to him and his wife.
Chief Inspector Anwaar Ahmed, who is responsible for city response, said:
“The actions of PC Prince and his wife that night was remarkable.
“Having booked into a city hotel to spend some quality time together, they sacrificed their own evening to help a vulnerable victim in their hour of need.
“If they had not intervened the incident could have escalated, and the assault could have been much worse.
“PC Prince is an excellent officer, and his actions helped the victim of a crime get the help and support she needed.
“Both of their actions that night were completely selfless and shows that the public will always remember the first officer on the scene, whether on or off duty.”
