A teenager has been convicted after an off-duty officer spotted him, armed with a knife about to snatch mobile phones from people in Hackney.
The 17-year-old appeared at Stratford Magistrates Court on Friday, 9 June, where he was found guilty of assault, possession of an offensive weapon, and one count of threatening a person with a bladed article.
He had pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery at an earlier hearing.
He was bailed for sentencing on a date to be confirmed in July.
At around 09:00hrs on Sunday, 23 April, PC Nick Fox from the Met’s Central East Command Unit spotted two male youths on bicycles who were acting suspiciously and appeared to be looking for phones to snatch in Kingsland Road E8.
PC Fox shouted at them and in response one of the males produced a knife and waved it at him.
The officer alerted local CCTV officers, the Robbery Taskforce and Response units.
He spotted the youths again who appeared to be about to target a lone female victim.
The officer again shouted to alert the victim before one of the males got off his bike and approached the officer, drawing a knife from his bag.
The youth saw Robbery Taskforce officer arrive and jumped back on his bicycle, pursued by PC Fox on foot.
A member of the public assisted officers by pushing the youth from his bicycle, 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.”
