Police dog and handler win an award for 'exceptional courage'

THEY BOTH SHOWED 'INCREDIBLE BRAVERY'

- By LAURA CROSS

Four-year-old PD Yoiko with his handler, PC Tom Marsden

A POLICE dog and his handler have won an award for their bravery, the Thin Blue Paw Foundation has announced.

Four-year-old PD Yoiko was on duty with his handler, PC Tom Marsden in 2024, when the pair were called to support their Humberside Police colleagues.

Talking about the incident, which happened in Hull, Tom said: “The man was in an upstairs flat and was waving a shovel out of the window. He'd smashed all the windows and was throwing cans out of the window at officers; he was on a rampage.

“When the riot police went in, he was braced against the wall, holding the shovel like a baseball bat. It was chaos; there was a parrot flying around which another officer caught in an upturned washing basket.

“It was really smokey because he'd set light to a curtain and pieces of furniture. You could taste the smoke at the back of your throat.”

Tom explained how the man had shut himself in a room and barricaded the door with a bed frame. He said officers put a riot shield on the floor to protect Yoiko’s paws from the broken glass.