Dramatic moment off-duty cops ditch work drinks to take down knife-wielding attacker who throws weapon at them
THIS is the dramatic moment off-duty cops ditched their post-work pints to take down a crazed knife-wielding attacker.
A horde of unarmed officers from the Met's Gangs & Pro-Active Team were snapped racing to apprehend the suspect who was threatening a man begging for his life in South London.
Joseph Jimenez, 19, is then seen hurling the large blade wildly at cops before police tackle him onto a public bench in Elephant and Castle last July.
Two groups of youths had been involved in a skirmish when one was struck over the head and a dog was set on him.
Jimenez, now 20, was jailed for eight months for being in possession of the blade and four months for affray when sentenced at Croydon Crown Court yesterday.
He will serve his sentences at a young offenders' institute.
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Detective Inspector Jon Summers hailed the brave efforts of his officers during the horror incident.
He said: "The team had finished a long, hard week at work and were enjoying some well-earned down time together when the events unfolded.
"They had been off-duty and were without any form of protective equipment such as batons or PAVA spray, or a police radio.
"Still they intervened, working tactically together in coordinating their approach to close off the suspect's possible escape route, and swiftly arrested him.
"The heroism shown by these officers is nothing short of exceptional.
"They placed themselves at real risk of serious injury in order to prevent serious harm and to apprehend an offender.
"It is actions such as these that demonstrate the true heart and soul of the Met.
"They are a credit to themselves, the unit and MPS as a whole."
Chief Superintendent Seb Adjei-Addoh, lead for policing in Southwark and Lambeth, said: "While we expect officers to protect the public, we expect this of them whilst on duty - with proper protective equipment and support.
"These officers had none of this equipment and were not aware of whether support was on the way or not.
"They had no way of knowing who had weapons or how many.
The heroism shown by these officers is nothing short of exceptional
Chief Superintendent Seb Adjei-Addoh
"They simply responded to what they could see - had they not acted, a member of the public may have been caused serious or potentially fatal injuries."
He added: "On seeing the spontaneous intervention of the off duty officers all other protagonists fled the scene and a large scale public disorder incident was averted.
"We are incredibly proud of them."
It comes after spine-tingling footage caught the moment three machete-wielding thugs broke into a businessman's £1.5million home before threatening to murder his wife.
The shameless raiders then made off in couple's £110,000 Audi following the brazen act at around 7.20am in Horsforth, West Yorkshire on February 5.
Dramatic home security footage captured the morning raid at the home of Hugh Boyle, 56, and his wife Samantha Alley, 43, in the Leeds suburb.
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It shows three masked and hooded assailants entering the gated property through the front door.
The camera then cuts to the shameless thugs entering the homeowner's £110,000 Audi clutching bags of ransacked goods - including Rolex watches and jewellery.
