A POLICE officer who came to rescue two of his colleagues being attacked by thugs has been commended by the chief constable.

Steven Hodder has been commended by Ben-Julian Harrington for his bravery, quick thinking and public spirit in coming to the aid of two police officers struggling to restrain three violent individuals in Colchester in 2019.

A Chief Constable’s Commendation is one of the highest honours Mr Harrington can bestow.

Mr Hodder put himself in harm’s way to support the two officers by restraining one of the people attacking them.

He said: "I was riding my motorbike when I noticed a police car and heard a commotion with a lot of shouting and screaming.

"I stopped and saw a female police officer struggling with a man and male police officer struggling with a woman with another woman going over to get involved.

"I grabbed the second woman and swung her away to stop her hitting the officers.

"It was so quick. I didn’t think twice about getting involved because police officers were getting attacked. I would do it again. Those people attacking them were bullies and I don’t like bullies.

"People moan about the police but they are human beings, they are doing a job, they go home to their families. And when the people who moan have trouble, who do they ring? The police.

“It was nice to be recognised and thanked for what I did.”

Chief Constable Harrington said: “All too often, police officers are assaulted for doing their job, which is to help people, keep them safe and catch criminals.

"Mr Hodder’s actions that day demonstrated one of the main principles at the heart of British policing which is that ‘the police are the public and the public are the police’.

"Many people would have stood back but he got involved and I sincerely thank him for that."