Knife crime: Off-duty police officer in Nottingham takes down knife-carrying shoplifter after Poundland theft

By Lucinda Herbert

Published 26th Jun 2024, 12:00 BST

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A heroic police officer has described how he chased down a shoplifter while off-duty - despite being threatened with a large kitchen knife - in a powerful video package.

An off-duty response officer recalls how he jumped into action and chased down a knife-carrying shoplifter who had been stealing from Poundland. Speaking on camera, PC Rishi Thobhani, explains that was walking through the High Street, in Nottingham, when he noticed staff chasing after a man, so he decided to intervene.

Watch Cutting Deep: The Knife Crime Crisis documentary on the Shots! TV video on demand platform https://www.shotstv.com/watch/vod/52484334 or on Freeview channel 276 ‘Prolific shoplifter’, Michael Delaney, is seen in the video pulling out a large kitchen knife and threatening to stab the officer, with the tip of the blade only a few centimetres from his face. Luckily, PC Thobhani managed to pull the knife away and ensure he was detained before further officers arrived on the scene to take him into custody.

‘Fear that I’m going to get assaulted’

Describing the ordeal, PC Thobhani, who joined the force in September 2022, said: “My role at that moment was to make sure no harm comes to anyone. I didn’t think twice about what harm I would come to. I trusted my instincts and skills to apprehend Delaney. There’s always going to be that fear that I’m going to get assaulted whilst I’m at work but if I continued to live with that fear for the rest of my life, I would not be able to do my job properly.”

An off-duty response officer, PC Rishi Thobhani, has described how he jumped into action and chased down a shoplifter - despite being threatened with a large kitchen knife. — An off-duty response officer, PC Rishi Thobhani, has described how he jumped into action and chased down a shoplifter - despite being threatened with a large kitchen knife. | Nottingham Police

An off-duty response officer, PC Rishi Thobhani, has described how he jumped into action and chased down a shoplifter - despite being threatened with a large kitchen knife. — An off-duty response officer, PC Rishi Thobhani, has described how he jumped into action and chased down a shoplifter - despite being threatened with a large kitchen knife. | Nottingham Police

Delaney, aged 35, of no fixed address, was arrested and charged. He pleaded guilty to a number of shop thefts, possession of a bladed article and threatening a person with a bladed article. He is due to be sentenced later this year.

Brave police officer went ‘above and beyond’

Nottinghamshire Police has joined other forces across the country to celebrate the hard work, dedication, and bravery of those who respond to calls from the public and confront criminals daily. Response Policing Week of Action, which started on Monday 24 June, is an opportunity to highlight the difficult, demanding, and unpredictable work that response officers and staff do to keep people safe.

Chief Inspector Paul Hennessy said: “What PC Thobhani did that day was remarkably brave. He went above and beyond to ensure a dangerous offender was taken off our streets. Response officers put themselves in harms’ way every day to protect the public and ensure the streets of our city and county are safe. It is why they do what they do and this example is a fitting testament to their outstanding work in our communities.”

Knife crime Police officer Poundland Nottingham

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