Drunk threatened police with knife

A drunken Ashford man was hit with a PAVA spray by police, after refusing to drop a knife during a showdown with officers.

Daniel Goldie’s mother had called 999 after the 25-year-old turned up from a trip to the pub, intoxicated, “acting strangely” and making abusive threats.

Canterbury Crown Court heard how he grabbed a knife and then punched a window causing it to shatter.

Paramedics and police turned up and Goldie, of St Teresa’s Close in Ashford, was ordered to drop the weapon.

Instead, the court heard, he refused and made thrusting motions with the weapon threatening to stab police officers.

It was then that police sprayed him with a spray containing pelargonic acid vanillylamide – known as PAVA – which causes pain to the eyes.

Goldie dropped the knife and ran back inside the property but was arrested, prosecutor Peter Forbes told the court.

He added: “Police officers described this incident as the most threatening and fearful they had experienced.”

Goldie said later he was unable to explain his behaviour “other than he was drunk” and is now remorseful.

The judge, Recorder Stuart Trimmer QC told him: “The police must be protected when they are doing their duty in confronting violent, criminal acts and the courts have a duty to ensure this doesn’t happen again.

“One police officer described this incident as the most frightening that he has ever seen and the only trigger for what you did seems to have been alcohol.”

He was given an 18-month jail sentence suspended for two years and ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work for the community.

The judge added: “You are on the cusp of going one way or another and if I sent you straight to prison you would be at risk of going in the wrong direction but I want you to thoroughly understand that if you are further convicted the court will have no choice but to jail you.”