This is the horrific moment a Merseyside police officer was left hanging out of the passenger door of a car by a man he is trying to arrest.
A new Channel 5 series explores the alarming rise in police ‘Code Zero’ callouts – the radio call sign issued by officers who need urgent assistance, often when they are under attack and their lives are in danger.
The series reveals the daily terror that officers face in the line of duty and the emotional toll these incidents take on the force, amid the challenges of fighting crime amid budget cuts and political pressures on policing.
Told first-hand by the officers and using personal body cam footage as well as CCTV, Police Code Zero exposes the dangerous situations faced by our police forces in 2019.
In tonight's episode viewers will see how a simple document check turned into a life threatening situation.
Liverpool student thought she would be killed after she was taken hostage
On a night shift, PC Dave Cullen patrols Orrell Park and pulls over a van for the check.
When a drug wipe on the driver comes back positive for cocaine, PC Cullen puts the man in cuffs in the back of his car.
But as he is talking to the offender's brother, the criminal climbs into the front seat and attempts to drive off.
PC Cullen said: "I immediately reacted - opened the passenger door and dove at him to grab hold of him.
"The engine of the car was revving and this lad just floored it. The passenger door was open, I obviously didn't have my seatbelt on. And I remember thinking: am I going to make it home tonight?"
"I said to him: Mate, you're gonna kill us. And he said I know, yeah.
"I'd never experienced feelings like that in 18 years. I started getting panic attacks and nightmares. I couldn't police properly. I was fearful all the time that it would happen again."
Police Code Zero: Officer Under Attack continues Monday, May 6 at 10pm on Channel 5.
