Charged!

#Charged | A man has been charged after he brandished a machete at two officers who were carrying out a routine drug search on his car.

The officers were called to reports of suspicious activity around Rambler Close, Newhall, and found a grey Seat Leon with its driver-side window smashed in.

After smelling cannabis coming from the car, the officers traced the owner and told him his vehicle was going to be searched for drugs.

During the search, which happened in the early hours of Wednesday 2 September, the 20-year-old tried to retrieve something from the back seat and was challenged by the officers.

They went to handcuff him to stop him interfering with the checks – at which point he decided to assault both of them.

In the ensuing scuffle, he brandished a huge machete and tried to run off but was tasered and safely arrested on a nearby street. 

The machete was later seized by officers, along with a significant amount of class A, B and C drugs that were located during a subsequent search of his home.

Chief Constable Simon Blatchly said: “This incident is a prime example of the dangers officers face every single shift.

“A routine search of a car suddenly escalated into extreme violence, with a deadly weapon being pulled on two of my colleagues who were simply doing their jobs in trying to tackle crime in our communities.

“Thankfully, the officers’ swift actions in dealing with the threat in front of them meant they were not seriously injured – and another weapon is off our streets.”

The man, from Newhall, has now been charged with possessing a knife in a public place, two counts of assaulting police officers, and possessing drugs with intent to supply.

He was remanded into custody and will appear at court at a later date.