Body-cam footage shows moment man waved machete at police
Police have released a video showing the moment a man threatened them with a machete.
On 6 September last year, police were called to Copley Gardens in Bristol after a report of a man with a knife.
On arrival, the man – 37-year-old Darrel Curtis – fled from officers before brandishing the blade at them.
Once in custody, officers linked him to armed robberies carried out the night before and in the early hours of that day.
At around 3.30am on 6 September, Curtis used the machete to threaten an employee at a service station in Gloucester Road before stealing cash, cigarettes and alcohol.
The previous day, he also used a screwdriver to threaten staff at a shop in Filton Avenue before making off with cash from the till.
CCTV from outside the shop captured the thief swapping the baseball cap he was wearing for a balaclava before entering the store.
Curtis, of no fixed address, appeared at Bristol Crown Court last week where he was sentenced to four years and six months in prison having admitted two counts each of robbery, possession of an offensive weapon and assaulting an emergency worker.
On his release from prison, Curtis will be subject to a Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) for seven years which prohibits him from entering any retail premises in the BS7 postcode area.
Investigating officer PC Joy Main said: “Darrel Curtis caused both members of the public and police force to fear for their own safety when he threatened them with a machete and a screwdriver.
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