An armed thug who swung a machete at a police officer then punched a nurse has been jailed.
Thomas May had been spotted with the weapon on the Metro and was heard muttering about going to chop someone up. Concerned members of the public at South Shields interchange in August reported his behaviour to police and showed officers a photo they had discreetly taken of him, with the wooden handle of the machete sticking out of his waistband.
Two PCs caught up with May as he staggered along the town's Fowler Street. David Povall, prosecuting, told Newcastle Crown Court: "They approached him from behind and told him to stand still and show his hands and that they were armed with tasers.
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"The defendant turned round and started walking towards the PC and drew a machete from his waistband. The officer took the view he was about to be attacked and tried to use his own taser but that failed.
"Another officer nearby, fortunately, had a functioning taser, which he used on the defendant, who was knocked to the ground." May was arrested and taken to police custody.
While there, officers were concerned about his mental state and a nurse was called. Mr Povall said: "He appeared to be completely unresponsive to the nurse and he therefore tried to use stimulus on him to see if he was genuinely unconscious and used a pinch point on his shoulder, at which point he responded by lashing out, punching the nurse in the chest, causing him reddening and temporary pain."
The court heard May has previous convictions involving weapons. The 30-year-old, of Warwick Court, Gateshead, pleaded guilty to possessing a bladed article and two counts of assaulting an emergency worker.
Jailing him for 21 months, Judge Sarah Mallet said: "When the police confronted you you walked towards the police officer, withdrew the machete and went to attack him and swung the machete.
"The pre-sentence report says you are a high risk of re-offending and a high risk of causing serious harm."
Rachel Hedworth, defending, said: "He was under the influence at the time. Thankfully nobody was seriously hurt and he is doing his best to address matters in custody."
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