A retired police officer from Radlett who rolled back the years by heroically stepping in to prevent officers being assaulted has been rewarded for his bravery.
Eighty-four-year-old Clive Miles received a Chief Constable Commendation for Bravery at the Chief Constable’s Awards Ceremony on February 26 for his instinctive bravery during an incident last year.
Clive, from Homefield Road, told RadlettNews about the events of November 7, 2018 from his own perspective.
He said: “I was driving on the A41 in Watford when I saw what I thought was a young girl being attacked. I saw her ponytail flying through the air before dropping to the floor.
“I stopped so suddenly I punctured my tyre on the kerb. Then I ran over to help.”
Clive soon realised that the woman he saw being assaulted was in fact a police constable, and she was trying to detain a fully nude, drug induced man alongside a fellow male officer.
It was clear he was under the influence of drugs causing Acute Behavioural Disorder, which can increase a person’s physical strength and ability and reduce their pain threshold.
Instinctively Clive, who has been retired since 1970, sprung to action.
He said: “They pinned the man to the ground but he was kicking out and hitting them, and it looked like he was going to break free.
“So I quickly got down, gathered his legs and laid on top of them. That made all the difference and we had the upper hand. The struggle went on for 10 minutes until other police arrived.”
Clive didn’t escape unscathed. He was kicked in the head and ribs and struggled to recover following the encounter.
He said: “The police tried to get me up but I was so groggy, I could barely stand. They took me to hospital and I spent a couple of days in there because I was so exhausted.
“They actually believed I’d had a minor heart attack. They kept monitoring me and decided it was in fact just pure exhaustion. It took me around a month to fully recover from the injuries.”
Clive, a Radlett resident since 1969, said of his award: “I’m very, very touched and surprised. They were very grateful.
“But I’m also extremely grateful to the officers who looked after me afterwards. They took care of me and my property – they took my damaged car and had the punctured tyre replaced.
“I also want to thank the Watford Tyre Brigade, who changed it for free.”
A Herts Police spokesperson said: “Clive ran to the officer’s aid and, being an ex-police officer, he instinctively knew what he could do to help.
“Clive was a significant help in preventing further assault on the police officers and potential serious harm. He was injured himself from being kicked in his head but he never gave up helping.”
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