Leicester police officer opens up about fears after knife attack

PC Niamh Harriman, 25, has worked for Leicestershire Police for the past six years and was hit by a vehicle in January.

“The woman was sitting in the driver’s seat and was trying to put the keys in the ignition. He started the vehicle, put his foot in reverse and ran over my right leg,” PC Harriman said.

“The tire went over my right side. My colleagues saw this incident happening from a distance, I activated my emergency button and went to the hospital to be checked.”

Dakota Henton, 29, of Dodsworth Close, Leicester, pleaded guilty to two counts of assaulting an emergency worker – PC Harriman and PC Toby Wilson – as well as failing to provide a specimen for analysis, dangerous driving and driving without a license.

Henton was sentenced to 52 weeks in prison, suspended for 18 months.

“I had a sprained hip and then a lot of bruising on my right leg. I’m more afraid of going to incidents,” PC Harriman added.

“It’s the last thing you expect to happen, but it happens a lot in this line of work. I’m back at work after three weeks away.

“The more free time I had, the more eager I would be to get back.”

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