'I was just doing my job' - Commendation for off-duty police officer who disarmed man carrying two knives in Northampton pub
An police officer has received a commendation for disarming a man carrying two knives in a Northampton pub.
PC Steve Scott was off-duty when he was in The Sevens pub, in Weedon Road, with his his fiancée, their baby daughter, and his stepdaughter on Easter Monday this year, after watching the football as a family.
The 41-year-old was called into action when a “violent and aggressive” man was seen threatening the landlord of the pub, with two large kitchen knives.
Steve, who has been a police officer for almost 20 years, said: “We’d just approached the bar after entering the pub when suddenly behind us, a man walked in with two knives - one in each hand. Initially, I thought he worked on a food truck that had been situated outside the pub, but it became quickly apparent that he didn’t.”
Mohammed Alamin, had been asked to remove his hood by staff. He reluctantly did this, but after being served, he put his hood back up and walked off without paying for his drink. Having been challenged by the landlord, Alamin and another man became verbally aggressive and were ushered out of the premises.
Alamin later returned to the pub, carrying a large kitchen knife in each hand.
Steve recalled that the offender was calm to start with but soon started to shout towards the landlord, which prompted the off-duty officer to urge his family to move to a safe place.
He added: “The landlord is a big guy – but with no protection, all he could do was stand there while this guy threatened him and moved closer towards him."
Recognising that he needed to protect himself but having no protective equipment on, Steve decided to grab a bar stool to ‘create distance’.
“I asked a fellow customer to call 999, and then I approached the offender. I showed him my warrant card in one hand and holding the bar stool in the other,” Steve said.
“He appeared shocked that I was there, and he’d been challenged. It was at that point I told him to drop the knives and after slight hesitation, thankfully he did and ran for the door. It was then I was able to grab a hold of him before he could escape.”
Steve detained the offender and searched him to ensure he had no other weapons. Alamin was then arrested by the attending response officers who arrived a few minutes later.
“He could’ve easily hurt someone that day” Steve said. “It’s a large and busy pub. Who knows what would’ve happened if things had played out differently?
“I’d like to think any other officer in my shoes would have done the same. I was just doing my job.”
Steve said that the pub landlord - who is a former Northampton Saints player - bought him a beer to say thank you and the pair were able to share a light-hearted moment afterwards when the landlord said, “I was your hero back in 2014 [when he was part of the Northampton Saints premiership winning team – a game Steve attended], now you’re my hero.”
Steve has since received a Superintendent’s Commendation from the force for his “bravery and quick thinking”, calling him a “credit to Northamptonshire Police”.