Teenager left feminine ‘police officer of the yr’ critically injured after mowing her down in Audi and driving over her unconscious physique to keep away from weed rap
A teenage boy mowed down and seriously injured a hero police officer in a ‘terrifying’ incident at a retail park.
Harvey Bell, 19, drove a black Audi Q2 ‘at speed’ at Police Constable Tracy Hallworth, who was investigating suspected drug taking.
The mother-of-two was knocked unconscious and fell to the ground, before Bell drove the vehicle over both her legs.
Pc Hallworth, a response officer who was named Greater Manchester Police‘s officer of the year two years ago, suffered serious injuries and was hospitalised for a dislocated knee, ligament damage and deep cuts and scratches to her thighs.
Today Bell pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving when he appeared today at Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court. He also admitted possession of cannabis.
Judge Maurice Greene disqualified Bell from driving and warned the teenager that ‘all sentencing options will be open to the court’, including imprisonment, when he is sentenced in June.
At an earlier hearing, prosecutor Jane Deakin told magistrates that police were called to reports of people acting suspiciously inside a vehicle in the car park of a Sainsbury’s supermarket, at the retail park, in Cheadle, Greater Manchester, around midnight on January 25.
Officers had received information drugs were being taken inside the car, Ms Deakin said.
Tracy Hall (pictured centre, between Greater Manchester deputy mayor Kate Green and Chief Constable Stephen Watson, in 2023) was run over by 19-year-old Harvey Bell, a court heard
As PC Hallworth approached the Audi she held her hands up ‘to give an instruction’ to the driver to ‘stop revving the engine’, the lawyer said.
But, instead of complying , Bell reversed before driving the vehicle straight at the officer.
After the incident, Superintendent Rick Arthern said: ‘This was a truly terrifying incident for a frontline officer to go through. Assaults on our officers are completely unacceptable.
‘The officer is at home recovering and as the hardworking dedicated officer she is, she wants to return as soon as possible to protect her community.’
PC Hallworth was presented with GMP’s officer of the year accolade at the Chief Constable’s Annual Awards in November 2023.
During the ceremony, held at Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium, Chief Constable Stephen Watson highlighted her bravery in call outs, including one where she arrested four men carrying machetes and another when a male suspect tried to push her out of a window as detained him.
Afterwards, the former supermarket manager, who joined the police ‘late in life’ in her mid-30s, said: ‘I have been on response for the past 15 years and still have pride and a sense of accomplishment in doing my job.
‘I still get emails every year from a teenage girl that I talked down from a bridge.
Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court heard how the police officer was injured by a car that was ‘driven at speed’ in a retail park on Wilmslow Road, Cheadle (pictured)
‘I have lost count of the amount of jobs where a calm demeanour makes the difference between significant harm and a place of safety for the individual involved.
‘I cannot express enough that the role of response officer is exhilarating, sometimes heart-breaking but mostly rewarding, and I am lucky to be part of an amazing team.’
Assistant Chief Constable John Webster, then her district commander, praised her ‘work ethic and determination which is second to none’.
He went on to describe her ‘huge resolve and personal resilience’, adding: ‘She has always gone above and beyond. She is a role model for many.’
In honour of receiving the accolade, PC Hallworth, who also works as a family liaison officer, was later invited to a garden party at Buckingham Palace in May, which was attended by Prince William, Prince Edward and Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.
Bell, of Knutsford, Cheshire, was remanded in custody and is scheduled to be sentenced on June 4.
