Staffordshire Police Federation rep PC Claire Bond shared her inspirational story with BBC One’s Critical Incident programme.
Branch treasurer and wellbeing lead Claire featured on the daytime TV show to talk about how she used her recovery and rehab from serious injuries suffered on duty to make a difference to others.
It was in September 2018 that Claire risked her life trying to stop a criminal she was trying to arrest from driving into runners taking part in the Stafford 10k run.
She was left with serious injuries after being crushed by the car and dragged along the ground.
Claire said: “When he started reversing the car, dragging me down the fence, it was like I was in a washing machine.
“My body was just turning then all of a sudden I felt a quite a hard hit and I remember thinking my legs hurt.”
Claire has raised thousands of pounds for the Care of Police Survivors (COPS) charity and Mind, and supported other officers.
And she told Critical Incident viewers that during her stay at the Police Treatment Centre in Harrogate she had an idea to help other police officers and staff.
“I went up for a two-week wellbeing course and I looked around at the place and thought what a shame we can’t have treatment centres in each of the forces,” she said.
“Obviously, it’s way too much money but is there something we can implement that people have got somewhere to go to?”
“Off the back of that, we started to really try to work on completing some wellbeing rooms.
“For officers who have just had an awful arrest, or they’ve been involved in something that has really upset them, they’ve got some bad news from home.
“The idea is to have a room that’s comfortable, that is therapeutic, that they can obtain information from or they can sit and listen to some music.”
Claire, who was recognised for her services to women’s policing and communities in Staffordshire with a British Empire Medal this summer, spoke about winning a Pride of Britain regional award.
“I felt a little bit of pride in myself that somebody somewhere had thought that I’d done a good job, not only on the day of the incident but all the charity stuff since,” she said.
And she also spoke about how she was surprised with a Pride of Britain Emergency Services Award by the singer and Voice presenter Olly Murs.
“I was asked if I could take part in some filming about mental health, which I did,” she said.
“They said to me you’ve been so good on camera we’d like you to come and have a day around the ITV studios.
“We went there and this gentleman came up to me and said that I’m the producer of The Voice, would you like to come and have a look around the studio?
“I love the Voice and I love Olly Murs, so why not?”
But it was all a set up so Olly could surprise her with the award.
“I remember looking at (her husband) Darren and he had this big smile on his face for the simple reason that he could never surprise me,” Claire said.
Claire also talked about her work implementing the Thrive mental health app across the Force, which saw her named Wellbeing Leader of the Year at the Inside Out Awards, which recognise organisations and people who champion better mental health.
“The app is available to all 3,500 Staffordshire Police staff and officers to have on their phone to assist with their mental health to be able to do daily check-ins, to do small games or tips on how they can look after their mental health,” she said.
“The uptake has been absolutely amazing.”
The programme also featured Claire’s husband Darren, her son Kenzie and daughter Evie who talked about the impact the incident has had on their lives.
And Darren said her work with the Federation had given Claire the chance to support fellow colleagues who had been hurt on duty or experienced physical or mental health problems.
He said: “It was a massive opportunity to bang the drum and shout about officers being injured on duty and their mental health.
“It was coming to the surface then about how many people have been injured on duty or had physical or mental health issues.
“And I think because you’d experienced all of that, you can pass that experience on to other people and say 'do you know what, it’s okay. You can come and speak to me. I can help you. I can point you in the right direction of what you may need and we can work together’.
“I think it’s just grown and grown and grown.”
Claire said: “From the outset my friendships, my family, everybody has been amazing and kept me going and kept me laughing.
“They’ve given me a reason to come back to work and show what I’m made of, show my kids especially what resilience is and how to use your strengths when you’re facing your weaknesses.
“That’s what makes me strong is understanding that my life is my life and this is how I want to shape it.”
The episode of Critical Incident is available to watch now on the BBC iPlayer
