Off duty officer floors armed thief after passer-by pushes teen off bike in Hackney
An off duty Met Police officer floored an armed phone-snatching teen after a passer-by pushed the would-be attacker off his bike in east London.
PC Nick Fox spotted two people acting suspiciously on bikes and seemingly looking for phones to steal in Kingsland Road.
One of them waved a knife at PC Fox and drew a knife a second time when they appeared to target a lone woman.
The off duty officer alerted local CCTV officers and the local robbery taskforce.
When the youth saw an officer arrive he jumped back on his bike pursued by PC Fox on foot.
A member of the public helped officers by pushing the youth from his bike, allowing PC Fox to move in and detain the suspect. He was arrested and taken into custody. A knife and three stolen mobile phones were found.
Detective Chief Superintendent James Conway said: "This is a fine example of bravery and excellent teamwork; an off-duty officer going above and beyond the call of duty, swiftly and ably assisted by his on-duty colleagues who rapidly responded to help the safe detention of the suspect. "I am immensely proud of their efforts to help keep members of the public safe, but I’m not surprised. My officers and staff are out there every day, working tirelessly for Londoners. Then they go home, get up and do it all over again. This shows that even outside work they are putting the safety of the public first. "I’d also like to thank the woman who helped stop the male, but left the scene before we could speak to her. Her action showed real courage and a selfless determination to assist the police preventing harm."
The 17-year-old appeared at Stratford Magistrates Court where he was found guilty of assault, possession of an offensive weapon, and one count of threatening a person with a bladed article. He pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery at an earlier hearing.
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