In Fareham, a man armed with a meat cleaver attacked two ambulance workers. He was sentenced to prison.
An ambulance was dispatched to an address in Glenesha Gardens around 3 a.m. on 11 February 2021, where 59-year-old Paul Searle was alleged to be suffering from breathing problems.
Despite the efforts of the responding emergency personnel to assist Searle, he became aggressive and verbally abusive, prompting the ambulance crew to leave the address and return to their vehicle.
Shortly after, Searle approached the ambulance wielding a meat cleaver and yanked the driver, Scott Bruce, from the vehicle, threatening to cut his ear off. At the time, the ambulance was reversing and collided with a parked car.
Emma Cooper, the paramedic in the passenger seat, radioed for help and got out of the ambulance to find her colleague grappling with Searle on the pavement before assisting in restraining him.
Scott sustained a cut to his hand from the meat cleaver, requiring stitches and physiotherapy, and Emma suffered a lump to her head as a result of this incident.
Searle, of Southsea’s St David’s Road, was arrested and charged with causing grievous bodily harm with intent and assault on an emergency worker.
On Wednesday, November 23, Searle was found guilty of causing grievous bodily harm with intent after a three-day trial at Portsmouth Crown Court. At a previous hearing, he pleaded guilty to assaulting an emergency worker and threatening a person with a bladed article in a public place.
Searle was sentenced to a total of 7 years in prison today at Swindon Crown Court.
His Honour Judge Cutler described the attack as a “extremely frightening attack” on dedicated emergency workers doing their jobs.
“This country values its paramedics, and we need them to do their jobs,” he told those in court today. The public backs them up, and the law will do everything it can to protect them.”
“Emergency workers dedicate their lives to helping people in their time of need and keeping the public safe,” said DC Carla-Marie Moore, who led the police investigation. An ambulance crew was dispatched that morning to assist Mr Searle and provide medical care. He became aggressive and subjected two paramedics to a terrifying attack, leaving them both injured and suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I am grateful to South Central Ambulance Service for their assistance during this investigation, and I wish both victims well in their continued recovery.
“It’s come as a great relief to finally have some closure,” Emma Cooper said following today’s sentencing. I am proud of the actions I took that night to prevent a different outcome from occurring. No one in our line of work should have to face the prospect of not being able to return home to our families.” Paul Searle decided to subject us to that ordeal, and despite the fact that it all happened in a short period of time, the long-term impact has been profound.
“There have already been far too many reports of both physical and verbal abuse directed at my fellow NHS colleagues; I sincerely hope that this case demonstrates that such behaviour will not be tolerated.”
I am pleased that justice has been served, and the length of the custodial sentence reflects the severity of the crime,” said Tracy Redman, Head of Operations (South East Hampshire) at South Central Ambulance Service.
Our ambulance crews respond to anyone who needs us at any time of day or night. It is critical that they can work without fear, and I was pleased to hear in the Judge’s conclusion that the public, quite rightly, loves our ambulance crews and wants to ensure their safety.” I am hopeful that this sentence will serve as a deterrent and reduce the likelihood of other ambulance personnel experiencing the traumatic experience that Emma and Scott did.
I’d like to thank our Hampshire Police colleagues, as well as the Crown Prosecution Service, for their assistance throughout this process.