They ran towards danger when most of us would run from it. Three unarmed GMP officers defied their bosses and took down a gunman in north Manchester to save people's lives.
Some of their heroics were captured on dramatic dashcam footage which showed PCs Jack Grainger, Jessica Hamblett and Richard Hayes tackling gunman Mohammed Shabaz Rafiq even though they heard the sound of a shot being fired moments earlier.
The unarmed cops were advised to wait for armed back-up - but the streets of Harpurhey were filling with kids on their way home from school and they decided to act. Now, thanks to their heroics, the gunman is behind bars and the three officers have landed national bravery awards.
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PCs Jessica Hamblett, 29; Richard Hayes, 42; and Jack Grainger accepted their gongs at the national police bravery awards last week. But the official press release about their heroics doesn't come close to describing the fear and heroics they encountered as they entered the tenth hour of what had been a fairly routine shift on March 24 last year.
This is the sometimes absurd life of all front line police officers who have to make split-second calls when facing impossible dilemmas, decisions they know can make them villains if the get it wrong as well as heroes.
Their unmarked patrol car was driving through Harpurhey at about 3.30pm - as parents and their children were beginning to fill the streets - when they spotted some men in a phone box known to be used by drug dealers.
"We were looking at them and then we heard a bang. I turned to my colleague and said 'that's a gunshot'. As I said that, a guy came running with a black bin bag, clutching it to his stomach. We pulled up alongside him. He's realised we're coppers and started running," said PC Hamblett.
The man ran towards a black Ford Focus near Ashgill Walk carrying three other men and he desperately grabbed at the door handle, trying to get in. But the door was locked and in his desperation the man ripped the door handle from the door. He threw the bin bag through the open window of the car as it attempted to speed away.
While PC Grainger chased the man who had just abandoned the bag, PC Hayes used his baton to try and smash the now closed windows of the car as it mounted a kerb and attempted to manoeuvre by some parked cars, scraping the rear walls of the houses that back onto Ashgill Walk.
"It was like a comedy sketch. There were three lads in the car and they were panicking," said PC Hamblett.
PCs Hayes and Hamblett drew their Taser stun guns and 'red dotted' the men in the car but they continued their slow-motion getaway as the car scraped back walls of the houses as it attempted to manoeuvre by parked cars. They radioed for armed back-up but admit they over-rode a message to wait for that back-up.
PC Hayes said: "We couldn't wait for armed resources to arrive. There were kids in the street. You have to react to that. That's what you sign up for when you join the police."
PC Hamblett added: "Honestly, I would do exactly the same again. He was that close to us. We were already in too deep. It's 'do you engage with it' or let someone with a live firearm go towards school children. Some officers have said we were absolutely mad and that they wouldn't have done it. But I think anybody in our position would do the same thing."
PC Hayes, a father of two children who has been with the force 17 years, said: "I knew straight away it was a handgun. I have firearms experience. We've got kids. We don't have time to worry about it afterwards. You do get a bit of an adrenalin dump."
PC Hamblett, who has been with GMP for seven years, said a senior colleague arrived at the scene and took her to one side. She said: "My adrenaline was so high at that time. I didn't even know where I was. I was in the middle of the road in a daze."
The trio were on the tenth hour of a shift when the drama happened - a drama that meant they remained on duty for some time yet.
In the end, a gun was found in a black bin liner underneath the Ford Focus, not on the man who had fled. But none of the three officers knew where it was during the chase, only that they had heard a bang and were convinced there was a firearm somewhere.
The weapon was a converted blank-firing Retay handgun, with a cartridge still in the chamber.
Mohammed Shabaz Rafiq, 24, of Wharf Road, Sale, whose prints were found in the bag, was jailed for five years in July last year for possessing an illegal firearm.
Lee Broadbent, the chairman of the Greater Manchester branch of the Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers, said: "What a tremendous trio of colleagues. We are very proud of their work.
"The actions of Jack, Jessica and Richard in pursuing a male who was armed with a firearm, which they believed had just been discharged, was exceptionally brave.
"The officers acted fast to detain this man and prevent any harm to members of the public, at significant risk to their own wellbeing.
"Not only was the suspect apprehended, but their excellent commentary during the pursuit directed other officers to support, and the subsequent scene management ensured the recovery of the weapon and other important evidence.
"The actions of these officers has brought a very high-risk individual into custody, which will have had a significant impact on protecting and reassuring the local community."
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