A NEWTON Abbot police officer who fought off a violent offender despite being struck in the face with a glass bottle and nearly thrown from a balcony is to receive a bravery award.

Newton Abbot PC Alice Beer who was serious assaulted while on duty in the town on February 11 and has recently returned to active duty
Newton Abbot PC Alice Beer who was serious assaulted while on duty in the town on February 11 and has recently returned to active duty (Steve Pope/MDA)

PC Alice Beer, pictured, was only a few weeks into her operational career when she responded to reports of an intoxicated man behaving aggressively towards a woman at a block of flats in Newton Abbot in the early hours of February 10.

When PC Beer entered the building, she was confronted by a highly volatile situation.

The man was standing on the wrong side of a railing on a communal walkway and appeared to be threatening to jump.

PC Beer immediately grabbed his arm to prevent him from falling.

‘I thought, “I can't let him jump”’, she said.

‘I know he's a suspect, but the main role of a police officer is not to let anyone come to any harm’.

But as she tried to restrain him, the man attacked her with a glass bottle.

‘Before I knew it, he looked me straight in the eyes, and then he bottled me around the face’, PC Beer said.

The bottle shattered on impact, leaving her with multiple facial injuries.

The attack then escalated. The man grabbed PC Beer, lifted her from the ground and attempted to push her headfirst over the balcony railing while repeatedly punching her.

‘He grabbed me, and he tried to push me headfirst over the railings’, she said. ‘I remember I'd gone past the vertical, and all I could see was the ground’.

‘My only point of contact was my ribs on the railings, and my hands, trying to stop myself from being pushed. I had such a clear thought when I was looking at the ground. I was like, “I'm going to die”’, she said.

Despite the assault, PC Beer managed to push herself back from the railing and continued fighting to restrain the man.

She eventually deployed PAVA spray, while a colleague used a Taser. Further officers arrived shortly afterwards and arrested the offender.

PC Beer was taken to hospital, where she was treated for a large cut above her right eye and several smaller facial wounds.

She also suffered a chipped tooth, as well as bruising and scratches to her neck and arms.

The attacker, 39-year-old Guy Pottle, later pleaded guilty to attempted grievous bodily harm and unlawful wounding at Exeter Crown Court.

He was sentenced to ten years and six months in prison for attempted grievous bodily harm and three years for unlawful wounding, to run concurrently.

The judge also imposed an additional five years on extended licence, describing Pottle as presenting a significant risk to the public.

PC Beer said she was shocked but ‘very privileged’ to have been nominated for Devon and Cornwall Police Federation’s Bravery Award.

‘It's not part of the job to be assaulted, but I was just trying to do my job at the end of the day’, she said.

Devon and Cornwall Police Federation chair Katie Clements praised PC Beer’s actions.

‘Alice is the example of the police officer we always aspire to be’, she said. ‘Not afraid to run towards danger, not afraid to try to protect others, not afraid to continue to try despite being under attack.

‘She didn’t run away, she ran toward. Her bravery, tenacity and professionalism are inspirational and incredibly humbling, especially considering she is so young in service.

‘We are incredibly proud of her’.

PC Beer will receive her award at the Devon and Cornwall Police Federation Recognition Awards on October 1.