Police officer shot with crossbow in High Wycombe says his priority was protecting the public
Jason King, 55, from School Close, shot PC Curtis Foster in the leg during an incident on 10 May last year
A police officer has spoken about being shot with a crossbow after a man stabbed his neighbour and then attacked officers in High Wycombe.
Jason King, 55, from School Close, stabbed a man in his sixties in the stomach during a dispute on 10 May last year. When officers arrived, he fired from inside his home and struck PC Curtis Foster in the leg with a crossbow bolt. King was later shot in the abdomen by armed police before being arrested.
King has now has been sentenced to 9 years in prison. He'll serve a further 3 years on extended licence upon his release.
PC Foster has now spoken about what happened, describing how what began as a call to a stabbing quickly escalated. “It was quite a simple job to begin with,” he said. “We had no other information other than a knife had been used to stab a neighbour. We were dealing with the victim’s wounds and everything was calm until some information came over the radio to suggest there were weapons at the suspect’s address.”
He explained that he first saw King open his front door holding a crossbow, before going back inside. Minutes later, King began shooting from an upstairs window. “I poke the head around and the suspect is removing one of his front windows. I can see this item glinting in the light, and then he takes two shots at me. One hits the building to my right, one hits the building to my left and the bolts fly off down the street.”
PC Foster said he was then chased through the street as King came out with the weapon. “He’s come out the address and chased me with the crossbow. As I’m running away, he shoots me in the back of the leg. I can feel blood running down the back of my leg, but I don’t know how serious the injury is, so I’m just running and clearing people out the way.”
He said his focus was protecting others who were in the area at the time. “There was an elderly couple with a dog, and a play park with two young kids. So we’re getting them out of the way, shouting at people all the while he’s chasing me. The good thing from this incident is no member of the public came close to even getting hurt.”
PC Foster later discovered how much blood he had lost but said he kept updating colleagues on the radio as the situation unfolded. “I was aware that I was losing a lot of blood, but at that point there’s nothing I can do. I’d rather save somebody than me. My adrenaline was so high that I just kept going. It didn’t stop me from doing my job, because I’ve got to then help my colleagues resolve the situation.”
The officer was taken to hospital after receiving first aid at the scene and has since returned to duty. King was discharged from hospital ten days after being shot and was later charged with multiple offences. Both PC Foster and the stabbing victim recovered after treatment.