A police officer has told how he feared for his life after a man high on crack cocaine lunged at him with a machete as he resisted arrest.
Kevin Lee, 44, attacked PC Ben Forbes in Warrington Road, Dagenham, in December last year.
Lee became increasingly violent and struggled to avoid being handcuffed and in doing so, pulled a large machete from his trousers and tried to stab PC Forbes.
The officer said: “I immediately feared for my life, I believed myself and my colleagues were going to be stabbed and crucially injured or worse from this assault due to the excessive size of the machete.”
Police were initially called to reports of a man armed with a knife who was high on crack cocaine at 6.20pm on December 1.
As officers placed him under arrested, he lunged towards PC Forbes with the knife and missed him by inches.
Lee eventually dropped the weapon before being handcuffed and placed inside a police van, where he continued to kick out.
He was charged with attempted wounding with intent and pleaded guilty before his trial was due to start.
Lee was jailed for three years at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Tuesday.
PC Forbes said: “This was a very traumatic incident for myself and my colleagues to experience but thanks to our team work and determination to apprehend a violent and dangerous suspect, we successfully managed to avoid injury and go back to our families.”
Detective Chief Inspector Niall McSheffrey added: “This was a terrifying event for PC Forbes and his colleagues with Lee, fuelled by drugs, displaying huge strength and aggression that make it very difficult for them to detain him.
“Lee showed himself to be a very violent individual and I am pleased and relieved he has been imprisoned.”
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