Hero cops take on machete man
Published: October 8, 2004
A pair of brave police officers today revealed how they tackled a crazed man armed with a machete in a Norwich street.
Terrified shop staff said the man claimed he was going to kill the next three people he met — but heroic police officers took on the armed thug.
Courageous PCs Angie Hawkins and Graham Robinson used CS spray to overcome the 21-year-old after he started swaggering around city centre streets brandishing the weapon.
The pair chased the man on foot before confronting him opposite the Ten Bells pub in St Benedicts Street.
PC Hawkins said: “When we challenged him to drop the machete he pulled it out of the sheath and waved it in front of us.
“There is no doubt about it, he wanted to hurt us. We feared for our safety and there were a lot of members of the public around.
“We used CS spray after a few minutes, I am so glad we had it, it certainly protected us on this occasion.”
The CS gas caused him to fall to the ground and the officers arrested the man for affray and possession of an offensive weapon.
PC Robinson said it was rare for police to have to use CS spray — but their batons were actually shorter then the machete, which had an 18-inch blade.
“When he started waving it at us, I thought he meant to harm us,” he said.
PC Hawkins added: “We didn’t really have time to be scared, it was only afterwards.”
Police believe the man was under the influence of drink, drugs, or both. Affray carries a maximum three years imprisonment and possession of an offensive weapon, a maximum of four years.
And now Norfolk Constabulary is appealing to members of the public who saw the man walking through Norwich to come forward.
The man, who is from the Earlham area, was spotted in St John Maddermarket around 4pm yesterday by concerned members of the public, who called the police.
He went into Reds convenience store on St Benedicts Street to buy cigarettes, before pushing a woman and baby as he left the shop and continuing down the street.
Ken Brown, the co-owner of the shop, said: “He bought cigarettes and then outside the shop had a disagreement with a lady and a baby. Then he put his head back in the door and shouted ‘I’m going to kill the next three people I meet’, before walking off down the road.”
Sgt James Brown, at Bethel Street Police Station, said: “He was certainly intending to hurt the police officers and they had to challenge him to protect themselves.”
The police have appealed to the scores of pedestrians, shoppers and drivers who would have seen the man to come forward to help police with their enquiries.
A 21-year-old man has been charged with possession of an offensive weapon with a blade and affray.
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