PC is battling back to full fitness after her skull was fractured
BIRMINGHAM bobby Emma Carney loves being a police officer.
The one time art student has a simple view of the job: “We take the bad guys off the streets and protect the public.”
But for the past year the only beat the 31-year-old has been able to pound has been around her desk at Digbeth police station after her life and career were almost snatched from her by desperate drug dealer Luke May.
The courageous constable suffered a fractured skull and crushed foot when May drove into her as he tried to flee police who spotted him dealing cocaine in Highgate.
PC Carney was off work for five months, and more than a year on from last April’s incident is still confined to desk duties because of the effects of her injuries.
She is one of a growing number of female police officers being assaulted at work.
According to the latest figures, injured police officers in the West Midlands had to take 1,166 days off to recover following assaults on the job.
What the statistics don’t show is the life-changing impact such attacks can have.
The incident bears a chilling similarity to that of Det Con Cathy Corbett.
The 40-year-old officer was left with serious head injuries and still has memory loss after being hit by the door of car as she went to arrest a fugitive conman near Heathrow Airport, and has still not been able to return to operational duties 18 months after the attack.
PC Carney admits to being luckier. April 8, 2008 started like any other for the Highgate Neighbourhood Police Team.
Their plain-clothed patrols took them into Spooner Croft, where the officers witnessed known drug dealer May peddling cocaine from his car.
PC Carney approached the 24-year-old but when she showed her warrant card he reversed into her with his driver’s door open.
The force of the collision sent the officer crashing to the ground, cracking her head on the road.
“I can still remember every single detail,” she said.
“I went for the ignition to get the keys but he pushed my hand away and put the car into reverse. I hung on to the door for a while but slid off and hit the ground.
“I was lying partly under the car and heard the gear change. I thought he was going to drive over my head. I tried to move but couldn’t, my body was completely dead.
“As he drove forward, he went over my right foot. I remember feeling relief it was just my foot then feeling a lot of pain.”
Share
