This is the terrifying moment a masked thug aimed a loaded gun at a police officer who was trying to arrest him.

Jay Conway, 33, was spotted dealing drugs by two plain-clothed officers in a park in Salford, Greater Manchester, in May.

They tried to apprehend him but he got away before another uniformed officer, who was on patrol in a police car nearby heard a radio alert and took up the chase.

Dramatic bodycam footage released by Greater Manchester Police shows brave Police Constable Dan Clayton haul Conway off a stolen push bike, before pulling out his taser and ordering him to ‘Get on the floor now.’

But Conway, who was wearing a balaclava, ignores him and instead pulls a loaded pistol out of his sock.

Conway is immediately tasered but, as he falls to the ground, he points the gun directly at Pc Clayton, who can be heard shouting, ‘No, no’ and ‘gun, gun, gun,’ as he sprints for cover.

Today, as Conway was jailed for 14 years at Manchester Crown Court, Pc Clayton said he thought he was going to die. 

‘I was staring down the barrel of the firearm and all I could think about was my pregnant wife and that I might never get to see my baby,’ he said.

Jay Conway, 33, pointed the 9mm pistol at the officer after he discharged his taser in an attempt to arrest him

Conway, 33, was jailed for 14 years after admitting possession of a firearm and other gun-related charges at Manchester Crown Court

Pc Dan Clayton said he thought he was going to die after Conway pointed the loaded gun at him. The officer has been nominated for a force bravery award.

Pc Clayton, who works for Salford North Neighbourhood Policing Team, said that, at the time, he had no idea Conway was carrying a gun and his instincts simply took over.

But he ‘genuinely believed’ Conway was going to shoot him, the officer added.

‘We are well trained at Greater Manchester Police in how to pursue and arrest people but sometimes that goes out of the window, and you do whatever you can in the moment,’ Pc Clayton said. 

‘My instinct is always to chase and detain suspects.

‘Straight after the incident I was shaking and sweating, and back at the station what happened really hit me.

‘The gun was loaded and only a few feet away, so the outcome could have been so much worse.

‘In the moment, you don’t always think about your actions, you just get on and do your job.’ 

In a victim personal statement, he said he’d been deeply affected by the incident and was now ‘more cautious and less trusting than I used to be’.

Pc Clayton gave chase after hearing reports of a suspected drug dealer on his police radio

The officer managed to pull Conway off the stolen bike, pulled out his taser and ordered him to surrender

But Conway ignored Pc Clayton and instead dramatic bodycam footage showed him reaching for the pistol in his sock

Pc Clayton discharged the taser and Conway fell to the floor, but was not incapacitated

Instead he sat up and pointed the loaded 9mm gun directly at Pc Clayton, who said he feared he was going to die and never see his unborn baby

He said he was now less confident and the incident had ‘left marks I don’t think will ever go away’.

Footage of the incident, on May 20, 2025, was played to the court.

Helen Longworth, prosecuting, said two parking wardens who happened to be nearby were also threatened by Conway.

As one approached, Ms Longworth said Conway pointed the gun towards him and said: ‘I suggest you f*** off’, causing the man to ‘freeze in fear’.

Conway then ran off before dumping the ‘loaded and cocked’ 9mm slide-action weapon, which had no safety mechanism and contained six rounds, on scrubland.

He also dropped his mobile phone and a quantity of heroin and crack cocaine.

Analysis of the phone and CCTV identified Conway as the suspect and he was arrested by specialist firearms officers the following day.

The total value of drugs seized by police was £1,645, the court heard, and phone records showed Conway had employed ‘runners’ to assist him in his drug-dealing. 

Conway, of Salford, pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, possession of a loaded firearm, possession of ammunition, two counts of possession with intent to supply Class A drugs, and assaulting an emergency worker at earlier hearings.

The court heard he was on licence for dealing Class A drugs at the time of the incident.

Sentencing Conway to 14 years in prison, with a further two years on licence, Judge Peter Horgan described him as ‘dangerous’ individual.

He said Conway had an ‘entrenched criminal attitude’ and engaged in drug-dealing for financial gain.

‘This is clear escalation of a pattern of violent offending that you have repeatedly demonstrated,’ Judge Horgan said.

The judge also praised the actions of Pc Clayton, saying he was a ‘shining example of police officers in this city who put themselves at grave risk every day without a moments hesitation in the protection of the public’.

David Bentley, defending, said Conway, a father-of-one, had carried the gun for ‘self-protection’ having previously been the victim of violent incidents.

One one occasion Conway was attacked with a machete and on another he was injured after being knocked down by a car, the lawyer said.

Mr Bentley said Conway, who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, ‘couldn’t believe he found himself in that position’ – pulling a loaded gun on a police officer.

However, he accepted he was ‘fortunate’ not to have confronted an armed officer otherwise the ‘outcome would have been serious injury or death’.

Mr Bentley added that Conway, who has numerous previous convictions, including for drug-dealing and assaulting emergency workers, wished to apologise to the officer.

Terry Woods, Deputy Chief Constable of GMP, said Pc Clayton had been ‘very, very lucky’ not to have been shot.

He said he would be nominating the officer and his two plain-clothed colleagues for force bravery awards.

‘I want to commend the bravery of our officers on duty that day and they will be forwarded for bravery awards,’ Mr Woods said.

‘I am proud of our officers – they acted courageously to confront an armed man, who is now rightly behind bars.’

The two plain-clothed officers were part of GMP’s specialist ‘Salford Challenger’ team, which aims to tackle serious and organised crime in the borough.

Since April last year, the force said it had seized 113 guns off the streets of Greater Manchester, leading to a 59 per cent drop in firearms discharges over the past 12 months alone.

In Salford, there were three firearms discharges in 2025, compared to five in 2024 and five the year before, GMP said.

In a statement, Detective Superintendent Simon Moyles added: ‘Nobody – (neither) a police officer or a member of the public – should be confronted by a gun.

‘These were frightening incidents and Conway is clearly a dangerous individual who is rightly serving a prison sentence.

‘We need to commend and recognise our officers who showed immense bravery in trying to stop Conway.

‘Guns have no place on our streets and the work we are doing in Salford – and across Greater Manchester – in relation to firearms incidents continues.’