Newark and Sherwood officers safely detained a knife-carrier on a riverbank after being given an unlikely helping hand.
When a man with a knife was spotted close to a pub in Fiskerton, near Southwell, officers from the region rushed to the area.
As the mix of neighbourhood and response teams arrived, the individual they’d been called about jumped into the River Trent.
He then proceeded to swim away from police and towards the opposite riverbank, close to where other members of the public were.
While the man had thrown away the hunting knife by then, officers didn’t know that, so shouted at people on the other side to run for cover.
Stranded on the wrong side of the river and with no way of getting across, police managed to find a boat moored nearby on the riverbank.
Realising what was going on, the boat owner quickly agreed to ferry officers across the water, so several members of the teams hopped aboard.
Thanks to his assistance, the Newark and Sherwood officers were able to cross the river in a matter of seconds and quickly locate the knife-carrier.
The man – who didn’t actually threaten anyone with the weapon during the incident on 6 August – was duly detained shortly afterwards.
Richard Shelton, 33, of Eastern Court, Newark, appeared before Nottingham Magistrates’ Court on Thursday (28 August), having been charged with possessing a knife in public.
He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two months in prison, suspended for 12 months.
Newark Neighbourhood Sergeant Kate Taylor, who helped detain him, said:
“I’d firstly like to thank the public for their understanding and assistance during what was initially a concerning incident.
“This appreciation is particularly extended to the boat owner we encountered, who helped our policing teams cross the river, so that we could arrest the individual in question.
“For obvious reasons, carrying a blade is very dangerous and is a serious offence, so we will always look to treat any reports we receive as such and look to take immediate action.
“At the time, we had no way of knowing the hunting knife the man had been carrying when we were called had been discarded, so it was a race against time to get to the other side.
“Thankfully for everyone involved, this incident didn’t escalate further and we were able to safely detain him before anyone was hurt.
“That we were able to do this so quickly, in the circumstances, was a credit to the officers from response and neighbourhoods who were in attendance.”
The Newark and Sherwood-based policing teams have also received some positive feedback from the public about the way they responded to the incident earlier this month.
One resident wrote:
“Although I wasn’t attacked, nor threatened, it was and still is a shocking experience that you don’t exactly expect to happen in your everyday life.
“The police turned up at the right time and spoke to me and my granddad, so we had as much information as possible, and were very kind and easy-going while doing so.
“This and the fact the police apprehended him so quickly is honestly what put me at ease. Thank you for making the world a safer place each and every day.”
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