Police officer from Cheshire wins bravery award after disarming murderers

Police constable Anthony Dutton, from Great Sankey, was one of four West Yorkshire Police officers who received the recognition at the Police Federation’s Bravery Awards earlier this month.

PC Dutton at the ceremony with his heavily pregnant wife

The prestigious prize was handed down in honour of the courageous quartet’s actions in coming to the aid of Robert Wilson, who sadly died aged 53 after being stabbed more than 100 times by 18-year-old Kiyran Earnshaw and 16-year-old Luke Gaukroger at his workplace in Huddersfield.

Army veteran PC Dutton said: “I’ve been with West Yorkshire Police for nearly five years, but prior to that I was in the forces for getting on for 11-and-a-half years.

“I did two tours of Afghanistan, but this one job was something else.

“Hopefully I won’t see something like that again, but it’s just part of the job.

“It’s still very, very vivid in my mind – it’s like it happened this morning.

“It was first reported to us as youths trespassing on the site, potentially armed with a knife – which is not uncommon – so we didn’t even know what we were going to.

“We were going there blind, and I had a student officer with me who was in her second week on the job.

“When we got there the staff didn’t have a clue what was going on, but we walked up a ramp and it was happening there in front of us.

“It was like time stood still.

“We all ran towards the one who had the samurai sword, and he just turned and looked towards us and carried on – he didn’t care whatsoever.”

The officers with their awards

Earnshaw and Gaukroger admitted murder and were jailed for life with minimum terms of 22 years and 16 years and eight months respectively at Leeds Crown Court in September 2020.

The heavily intoxicated pair had been asked to leave the factory’s car park by supervisor Mr Wilson in January last year before they chased and fatally attacked the dad-of-two.

Officers used a taser and incapacitant spray in order to detain the killers.

PC Dutton added: “I’m not shy about saying it affected me mentally, but it’s what we get paid for – I was just doing my job.

“I’ve suffered with PTSD, anxiety and depression which all manifested from that incident.

“It was inhumane and barbaric.

“How could you do that to another human being?”

The 34-year-old and his colleagues were invited to 10 Downing Street and given a tour of Westminster after attending the ceremony in Central London.

And it was a double celebration for the Warringtonian copper, whose wife gave birth to the couple’s second child George only three days later.

He described his baby son as an ‘early Christmas present’, and added: “The four of us were speechless when we were named as winners.

“Just to be nominated was an achievement in itself.”