Police or Samurai? Knife Maniac Taken Down in “Swordfight”
- Categories: Japan, News
- Date: Apr 7, 2010 11:54 JST
- Tags: Bizarre, Crime, Martial Arts, Nara, Police
Japanese police have attracted attention for their flashy samurai-style takedown of a knife-wielding maniac who had already stabbed one officer, being photographed in a “swordfight” as they subdued him.
The incident began one morning with police in the historic city of Nara receiving a report of a “quarrel” in which one man had been stabbed.
Police arrived in the area in force, dispatching some 40 officers to the area, and began searching for the suspect.
Soon a sergeant found the suspect, a 31-year-old unemployed man later found to have 3 kitchen and fruit knives in his possession (he can be seen dual-wielding in the photographs), 400m away from his home, and approached him for questioning.
He did not however come willingly, stabbing at one officer’s head and injuring him lightly. Reinforcements arrived rapidly and began to subdue him in uniquely Japanese style, using their batons as bokken:
The man was arrested and charged with interfering with police duties and assaulting a police officer, charges he denies saying “I have absolutely no recollection of the event.”
Whatever else can be said of Japanese police (who carry pistols as standard), they do deserve credit for not lazily gunning the suspect down or tasering him into cardiac arrest as police elsewhere do frequently.
Source: Sankaku Complex
