Police Superintendent applauds efforts of Shomrim
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March 11, 2010
The man wasn’t wearing fancy dress and the knife he was brandishing – with an 8 inch blade – as well as the evil looking dog were for real. Events played out in Bell Lane, North West London, at 4pm last Sunday afternoon were not part of a Purim shpiel and had it not been for the speedy intervention first of Shomrim North West Community Patrol and soon afterwards of local police officers, the outcome might have been very different. A member of the Shomrim Jewish security team has spoken for the first time of how he and three colleagues disarmed a man wielding an 8in knife at the height of this year's Purim celebrations. The man, who asked not to be identified, is in his early 20s and was praised by Barnet police for the way in which he and his team dealt with a potentially dangerous situation. He said: "The call came through to the Shomrim hotline that there was a man with a knife in Bell Lane, Hendon. I and three colleagues put on anti-knife vests, as we have been trained, and went there. |
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"When we arrived, a young man was running around waving a knife. He threatened an elderly man, a woman and her daughter.
"The woman was screaming because he was chasing her daughter, so we got the girl into a house and told them to close the door.
"The man was in a state of distress and looked as though he was running wild. But once we got the girl inside, he realised he didn't have anyone to chase."
The Shomrim member said he had been trained not to have any contact with a suspect, but simply to call the police. "This was the exception," he said. "We called to the man and told him he was surrounded and to put down his knife, which he did.
"We spoke to him very calmly and did not get close enough for him to lunge at us. We asked him to walk back a couple of steps, at which point we moved forward, kicked the knife away and asked him to sit down. Then we waited for the police."
Police officers arrested the 21 year old suspect who was removed to Colindale police station. Two members of Shomrim accompanied the police to give statements.
“This was the third occasion this month when we succeeded in preventing a knife from being used as a weapon with the apprehension of the suspects” a Shomrim spokesman told the Jewish Tribune.
The man, 21-year-old Nyron Valentine Crichlow, of Colindale, north west London, pleaded guilty at Wood Green Crown Court to affray and possession of an offensive weapon and was jailed for 15 months and nine months, to run concurrently.
"The woman was screaming because he was chasing her daughter, so we got the girl into a house and told them to close the door.
"The man was in a state of distress and looked as though he was running wild. But once we got the girl inside, he realised he didn't have anyone to chase."
The Shomrim member said he had been trained not to have any contact with a suspect, but simply to call the police. "This was the exception," he said. "We called to the man and told him he was surrounded and to put down his knife, which he did.
"We spoke to him very calmly and did not get close enough for him to lunge at us. We asked him to walk back a couple of steps, at which point we moved forward, kicked the knife away and asked him to sit down. Then we waited for the police."
Police officers arrested the 21 year old suspect who was removed to Colindale police station. Two members of Shomrim accompanied the police to give statements.
“This was the third occasion this month when we succeeded in preventing a knife from being used as a weapon with the apprehension of the suspects” a Shomrim spokesman told the Jewish Tribune.
The man, 21-year-old Nyron Valentine Crichlow, of Colindale, north west London, pleaded guilty at Wood Green Crown Court to affray and possession of an offensive weapon and was jailed for 15 months and nine months, to run concurrently.
Superintendant Neil Seabridge
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Police Superintendent Neil Seabridge said: "We appreciate and applaud the efforts of the Shomrim in this instance who intervened and aided to protect people from potential harm. We would always encourage people to dial 999 and seek our help as soon as possible." Shomrim NW have reason to be proud of their organisation, designed to cope with incidents like this one. Their disciplined reaction to a moment of crisis defused the situation which ended peacefully with the suspect safely in police custody and without harm being inflicted on anyone. A local Rabbi exclaimed |