Taser officers swoop on man armed with 'spatula'
A PARTIALLY disabled man who uses a spatula-type knife to open his mail was flabbergasted when police surrounded him on a Torquay street and ordered him to hand over his 'offensive weapon'.
Furious Steve Gardner, who was waiting outside his St Marks Road home for some post, claimed after his surprise confrontation with the law: "It was just a spatula. It's something you use to ice a cake.
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"It's not an offensive weapon. I don't have full use of my hands so I need it to open my letters, put on my shoes and scratch my back."
But police insisted after the incident on Wednesday afternoon the object seized was a customised bread knife which was effectively an offensive weapon.
Insp Jon Perry said: "It was very fortunate the person was not arrested for being in possession of such an instrument. By having it in a public place it was an offensive weapon.
"We took the view it was not in the public interest for him to be detained, although he was abusive and confrontational.
"But we did confiscate the item, which we considered to be a bread knife with the serrated edges removed and sharpened."
He said the incident happened as officers were searching for a parcel delivery van which had just been stolen in the area.
He confirmed some officers at the scene were armed with Taser electric shock guns, which were not used.
Steve, 55 and an unemployed salesman, said a neck injury had left him with only partial use of his hands.
He said: "I was just an innocent bystander on a street corner waiting for my ex-landlord to bring me mail from my old address.
"I use the spatula to open my letters. It's also used as a shoe horn and to scratch my back.
"Suddenly, I found myself surrounded by police — some of them with Tasers. I could not believe what was going on. I was told to put down the weapon. It's not a weapon. It's a spatula."
He admitted there was a 'heated exchange' between him and the police.
He added: "Of course I was angry. Who wouldn't be? I think the police made a mistake. They didn't arrest me because I'd done nothing wrong."
He hoped his spatula would be returned because it was on the inventory of the flat he'd just moved into.
14 Comments
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by Joe, USA
Thursday, August 06 2009, 5:58PM
“The British have become drooling idiots. What happened? It wasn't this way 50 years ago.”
by outspoken2, USA
Wednesday, August 05 2009, 4:17PM
“Have the Cops "The boys in blue" taken leave of their senses? Have they lost their collective mind? The cops consider a spatula a deadly weapon? How crazy, how mindless, how ignorant, how dumb, how stupid, how completely wacky is the liberal government mindset. Is there no common sense left in England? HAS Lunacy /Political Correctness taken over the once great and mighty England? I hope not.”
by JD, USA
Tuesday, August 04 2009, 8:57PM
“Thank GOD we don't have that in the USA yet! This is pathetic! What happend to the formally Great Brittan???? You have let them strip you of all your rights. You are back to being serfs to the state. . . I am so sorry. I just hope we can stop that from happening here.”
by grubbyeddie, USA
Tuesday, August 04 2009, 8:51PM
“Christ Almighty! What happened to the UK and the stiff upper lip that beat back the Nazi's, where men were men and pansies were frowned upon? I can't believe that there are so many pussies over there that you are having a serious discussion about whether it was actually okay for the police to rob a citizen of his property for "his own good" Did you learn nothing from reading Orwell?”
by Woodpecker, Paignton
Friday, July 31 2009, 6:43PM
“Regarding some of the comments on this story, we live in a different age now if you like it or not. There has been a big increase in knife crime and the police have to react. The weapon shown does not look to me like a spatula but a ham knife as someone has stated. Why would anyone walk around with an offensive weapon exposed and not expect to be stopped. Its not over-reaction, its common sense on the police's part to avoid anything worse happening. After all, how were they to know that the man uses the darn great knife to open his post with!”
by Fairy Queen, Torbay
Friday, July 31 2009, 5:42PM
“Hindsight is a wonderful thing!”
by H I Manning, mersyside
Friday, July 31 2009, 5:26PM
“I found the police often disinterestedor indeed closed when i tried to cantact them while in Devon
I do note a difference here in mersyside were they are more active and endowed with commonsense.”
by Jobsworth, Torbay
Friday, July 31 2009, 5:03PM
“It looks like a nasty ham slicer to me. Wandering about in public with what is clearly an offensive weapon will result in exactly this happening. The police let him off lightly, and they should be applauded here, not criticised.
The fact he feels very silly now is not a reason to run off to the local newspaper.
Shoe horn and back scratcher? Does Mr Gardner clean his ears with a cross bow as well?
Well done Boys in Blue! Well handled.”
by geoff, Torquay
Friday, July 31 2009, 4:18PM
“Steve, pardon me for saying so I think I know where you went wrong you should have tried singing 'son your be a spatula boy until your dying day'
But seriously you got off light, in London there was a guy shot dead for carrying a chair or table leg! and another shot in the head 7 times for travelling on the tube!!”
by geoff, Torquay
Friday, July 31 2009, 4:09PM
“Looks like I had a lucky escape after shopping for a Duracell AAA and some Saxa....
I could had been done for a salt and battery!”