Off-duty officer steps in to arrest armed man

24 September 2024

PC Steve Scott has recently received a Superintendent’s Commendation after he detained a ‘violent and aggressive’ man who was threatening to stab the Landlord of a pub in Northamptonshire.

The incident took place on Easter Monday this year at The Sevens pub in Weedon Road. Steve, who has been a police officer for almost 20 years, was out with his fiancée, their baby daughter, and his stepdaughter.

“We’d been out as a family to watch the football and decided to go to the nearby pub after” recalled 41-year-old Steve. “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.”

PC Steve Scott.

Earlier that afternoon the offender, 28-year-old Mohammed Alamin from Northampton, had been asked to remove his hood by staff - as per company policy. 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 in the pub.

“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,” added Steve. In 2007, after just 2 years of service at Bedfordshire Police Force, where he started his policing career, one of Steve’s colleagues was fatally stabbed while on duty.

Stabbing

“Having experienced a stabbing so close to home earlier in my career, I’m very conscious of what could happen when someone is armed with a knife. They can be extremely dangerous and unpredictable,” he said.

Recognising that he needed to protect himself but having no protective equipment on, Steve decided to grab a bar stool to ‘create distance’ between himself and the offender.

“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.

“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 managed to detain the offender and search him to ensure he had no further weapon(s) on him. Alamin was then arrested by the attending response officers who arrived a few minutes later.

“He could’ve easily hurt someone that day” says Steve, adding: “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.”

Northampton Saints

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 exclaimed, ‘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’.

Echoing those words, chair of Northamptonshire Police Federation Sam Dobbs said: “They say you’re never off-duty as a police officer, and incidents like this demonstrate just how true that is.

“Steve could have quite easily ignored what was happening that day and even left the pub if he had wanted to. He was there as a member of the public, with a young family - yet, without giving it a second thought, he put himself at risk to stop a potentially very dangerous man.

“If Steve hadn’t been there, this incident could have had a different ending. He didn’t just save the member of staff who was being threatened that day, but Steve saved a whole pub of innocent people from being harmed.

“He undoubtedly deserves to be recognised for his brave and courageous actions.”

Alamin has since been sentenced to 24 months in prison for threatening a person with a blade / sharply pointed article in a public place.