This is the moment two brave female police officers confronted a man brandishing a knife, shoving him into a shopfront to take the blade off the streets.
The Metropolitan Police cops had been on foot patrol on Brewer Street in central London‘s Soho area in the early hours of the morning.
In the middle of their routine duties, they spotted the passerby carrying the weapon, right in the centre of the busy West End.
Bodyworn footage shows one of the constables shouting, ‘Hey! Put that down now!’, as she crosses the road to confront the individual head-on.
Her colleague echoes, ‘Put it down!’, as the pair approach the man, who is openly displaying the knife as he stands, seemingly completely relaxed, in front of a shop.
The officers quickly call for help, saying into their radios, ‘We’ve got a man with a knife on the street’, as alarmed bystanders retreat into a nearby store.
Initially remaining a few metres away for their own safety, the cops shout, ‘Get down, get on your knees now!’, before one swiftly apprehends the man.
She pushes the man towards the wall and turns him around before quickly putting handcuffs on him, as he stands pressed against the shopfront.
This is the moment (pictured) two brave female police officers confronted a man brandishing a knife, shoving him into a shopfront to take the blade off the streets
The Metropolitan Police cops had been on foot patrol on Brewer Street in central London’s Soho area in the early hours of the morning. Pictured: The man is arrested by one of the officers
In the middle of their routine duties, they spotted the passerby carrying the weapon, right in the centre of the busy West End. Pictured: The officers seize the knife
As she arrests the man in the middle of the pavement, passersby film, before her colleague confirms into her radio, ‘Got the male detained in cuffs’.
The officer calmly tells the man he is under arrest for possession of an offensive weapon, before reading him his rights.
The constables soon recover the knife from where it was dropped on the pavement during the melee.
They quickly dispose of what appears to be a long, sharp kitchen knife, packaging it up for taking back to the police station.
The Metropolitan Police posted the bodyworn video of the confrontation on their official social media channels to celebrate the officers’ courage.
The caption of their post on X read: ‘Two officers were on foot patrol when they spotted a man with a knife.
‘They immediately stepped in, contained the incident, and arrested the suspect before anyone could get hurt.’
The Metropolitan Police has been contacted for comment.
It comes after the force defended its work cracking down on crime in London earlier this year, amid jibes by US President Donald Trump about the safety of the capital.
Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner Matt Jukes said London ‘does not deserve the reputation which it is sometimes given’, in what appeared to be a thinly veiled dig at the American premier.
Figures released in January showed there was just over one unlawful killing (1.07) per 100,000 people last year – an historic low for the capital.
Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley paid tribute to the results of ‘relentless work’ to drive down violent crime in the capital, despite claims from the likes of the US President that London has ‘no go’ areas.
He added: ‘The results speak for themselves – fewer lives lost, fewer families shattered.
‘Every murder is a tragedy, but we will continue to use every tool at our disposal to drive down serious violence.
‘This work will not stop, and neither will our determination to keep Londoners safe.’
The Deputy Commissioner told reporters he would not ‘get involved’ in political commentary, but said the figures proved the criticism was unfounded.
‘And our message, not just to Londoners, but to the world, is that the facts speak for themselves. London is safe and getting safer.
Bodyworn footage (pictured) shows one of the constables shouting, ‘Hey! Put that down now!’, as she crosses the road to confront the individual head-on
Her colleague echoes, ‘Put it down!’, as the pair approach the man (pictured), who is openly displaying the knife as he stands, seemingly completely relaxed, in front of a shop
One of the officers pushes the man towards the wall and turns him around before quickly putting handcuffs on him, as he stands pressed against the shopfront
The constables soon recover the knife from where it was dropped on the pavement (pictured) during the melee
‘London does not deserve the reputation which it is sometimes given, and we are proud of the men and women of the Met who are part of making that difference.’
London’s Labour mayor Sir Sadiq Khan pointed to the statistics to dub the city ‘safer than ever’ – and blasted critics for promoting ‘untruths’.
He insisted the Met data disproves suggestions from Trump and other right-wing politicians that crime is out of control in London.
But Sir Sadiq’s opponents have claimed this assertion is based on ‘cherry-picked’ data that does not represent the everyday reality of the capital.
While declining murder rates are welcome, other data shows crimes including shoplifting, phone snatching and sexual offences have all increased under his leadership.
Susan Hall, Conservative leader of the London Assembly, claimed Sir Sadiq ‘has chosen to cherry-pick data in order to cover his record failure as our Mayor’.
She told the Daily Mail: ‘Whilst knife homicides may be down, they represent just a small number of outcomes from knife offences.
‘In reality, most Londoners who encounter a knife – such as a robbery – are significantly less likely to see action on that matter, and the number of knife offences in London continues to climb.’