A knife-wielding man who set a dog on his victim has been jailed after off-duty police paused their drinks to apprehend him in Elephant and Castle.
It was broad daylight when Joseph Jimenez, 20, tried to slash a man with a large knife in Elephant Park, on July 21, 2023.
Off-duty police winding down at a nearby bar spotted the commotion and swarmed Jimenez who threw a knife at the onrushing officers.
Jimenez pled guilty and was sentenced to eight months’ imprisonment for possession of a bladed article and four months for affray, at Croydon Court yesterday (Wednesday, February 14).
Detective Inspector Jon Summers said: “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.”
Officers from the Gangs & Pro-Active Team were socialising in Elephant Park when they noticed a violent altercation unfolding nearby.
Two sets of males were involved in a skirmish when one was hit over the head and had a dog set on him.
Jimenez stood over one man trying to slash at him with a large knife.
Officers sprang into action, closing off the suspect’s escape routes and coordinated their approach to arrest Jimenez.
The suspect tried to run away and even threw a knife at the police who were without armour, PAVA spray, or police radios.
On seeing their intervention, others involved in the skirmish fled the scene averting a “large scale public order incident”.
Officers administered first aid to the victim who was taken to hospital for a head injury.
Police believe officers’ actions prevented Jimenez from sustaining more serious injuries.
He was charged on July 22, 2023, and remanded in custody.
Launching an investigation, police recovered CCTV and witness accounts which persuaded the suspect to plead guilty.
Chief Superintendent Seb Adjei-Addoh, lead for policing in Southwark and Lambeth, added: “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. 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.
“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.”
Jimenez, from North London, will serve his sentences concurrently at a young offenders’ institute.