Police officer who was attacked on duty in Hereford speaks out after men sentenced
Two men were sentenced for assaulting PC Ryan Davis on the evening of Good Friday in March 2024
Last updated 23rd Feb 2026
A West Mercia Police officer who was attacked while on duty in Hereford has spoken out, saying the ordeal left him with severe physical injuries and long-term mental health issues.
Two men were sentenced today for the assaulting Pc Ryan Davis on the evening of Good Friday in March 2024.
PC Davis has said the assault will "forever be the day that his life changed."
Davis was part of a plain clothes operation aimed at protecting women and girls and intervened in a fight on Union Street involving father and son Richard and Alex Quinn, who were attacking a member of the public.
Richard and Alex Quinn were found guilty of that offence in September 2024.
Following the intervention, PC Davis was assaulted assaulted by Richard and Alex Quinn and suffered significant injuries including a dislocated and broken ankle, broken lower leg, multiple fractures and face lacerations including damage to an eye.
The Quinns also punched, kicked, stamped on and strangled PC Davis as he lay defenceless on the ground while his colleagues were being assaulted by other members of the family.
PC Davis has been recovering for the past 21 months, and still faces both physical and mental health impacts of his injuries.
Richard Quinn, aged 49, and Alex Quinn, aged 20, both of Bridge Street in Hereford, were sentenced today (February 20th).
Richard received four years and three months in prison for assault causing grievous bodily harm on PC Davis and for the assault by beating on the member of the public.
Alex Quinn, 20, was sentenced to three years and ten months at a young offenders' institute for the same offences.
Speaking on the sentencing, PC Davis, aged 34, said: “While I am pleased that justice has been handed out today, I have already been serving my sentence, having spent the past 21 months recovering from this cowardly and brutal attack - and there is still more recovery time for me to get through as I slowly rebuild my life
.“This horrific attack changed who I am. I have struggled with PTSD ever since. Their actions have put me through so much physical and mental pain, and I really don’t recognise the person I was before it happened.
“It left me fearful to go out and I have suffered recurrent flashbacks to the events of that night. I feel I have been left to suffer by perpetrators who have shown no remorse. “Nobody should go out to work and expect to experience anything like this, but I would like to thank my colleagues and West Mercia Police and the Federation for their help and support along the way.”
Chief Constable of West Mercia Police Richard Cooper said: “An attack on a police officer or indeed, any other emergency service worker, is an attack on society.
“Police officers and staff are ordinary people with parents, children, and partners and when they are attacked, they become victims while trying to protect others and they should be recognised as such.
“Injured colleagues need time away from work, affecting our capacity to serve the public, and placing additional pressure on others.
“West Mercia Police has supported PC Davis throughout his ordeal. I have spoken with him several times since his attack and have been struck by the enormous personal impact it has had on him.
“I hope today’s sentencing of the Quinns serves as a reminder that assaults on our officers will never be tolerated.
“Every attack is an attack on the safety and wellbeing of our communities. We will continue to pursue justice for all victims and ensure offenders are held fully accountable.”