CCTV captures dramatic moment Sheffield police officers tackle robber armed with machete

The incident, which was captured on CCTV, has been revealed by South Yorkshire Police today and shown on the BBC programme ‘Critical Incident’.

On May 29, 2018, PCs Del Owen and Ben Hawley were the first to respond to reports of a raid in progress at a One Stop shop in the Shiregreen area of Sheffield.

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South Yorkshire Police said ‘terrified staff’ had called 999 to raise the alarm.

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The officers entered the store, knowing the offenders were armed, and confronted the crooks inside.

PC Owen, who at the time was still a student officer at the time, said: “We knew that the suspects who’d gone into the shop were armed and the caller had reported one of them possibly had a machete.

“That’s a scary thing to hear and another thing entirely to be faced with – I was still relatively new, still finding my feet as a response officer, but that’s part of the appeal of being a police officer. You can be called to a wide range of incidents and you never know what you might face when you arrive.

“While incidents like this can be daunting, there’s an adrenaline that comes from knowing it’s your responsibility to protect the public and keep our communities safe. That was our absolute priority.”

CCTV footage of the incident shows PC Owen tackling one of the suspects to the ground.

She said: “I didn’t really think about it, I just knew I needed to arrest him and stop him from getting away or causing harm to anyone else.”

PC Hawley confronted the other suspect, who was holding the machete and surrendered the weapon.

He said: “To be confronted by someone who is waving a machete around is terrifying, but when you respond to an incident like this you know that your job is to make sure that person doesn’t harm anyone, that they can’t get away.”

District Commander Chief Superintendent Una Jennings said: “This is a fantastic example of the passion, bravery and dedication to the job our officers demonstrate every single day in Sheffield.”

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