THE CHILLING moment machete thugs slash at a brave off-duty police officer after he tried to stop them stealing an e-bike in a busy town centre.
Two brothers who attacked a courageous off-duty cop with a machete while he tried to stop an e-bike robbery have been jailed for seven years.
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Hannan Mahmood, 20, and Humar Mahmood, 19, of Luton, Beds, attacked PC Attwood in the city outside a shopping centre.
PC Attwood was with his wife when he saw the pair stealing an electric bike and stepped in to block their escape.
Dramatic CCTV footage shows the off-duty officer using a nearby plastic barrier to block the brothers from escaping — all while being slashed with a machete on November 2.
PC Attwood, who works in the Metropolitan Police Service, has spoken out about the incident for the first time and said: “I didn’t go into town expecting to be stabbed.
“The victim of the robbery didn’t go into town to get robbed. We were just doing our normal day-to-day activties.”
The horrific attack left PC Attwood with injuries to his arm and chest, which were fortunately not life-threatening.
The Mahmood brothers pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm with intent, dangerous driving, robbery, and possession of offensive weapons in connection with the incident.
They were sentenced today (June 23) at Luton Crown Court to a total of seven years in prison, with an additional five years on licence.
PC Attwood said: “I think if you put a uniform on – irrespective of what uniform – you have a hidden ability to help people.
“There is a saying that the police are never off duty and in my case at this time, that was true.
The public are safer as a result
Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley
“Thankfully we managed to stop someone from doing something bad to someone else.
“I would like to thank the officers of Bedfordshire Police as while they have said really nice comments about me, I have never had a chance to thank them back.
“I thank them wholeheartedly.”
Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, said: “Every day police officers up and down the country step forward to confront the most dangerous criminals in circumstances when most people would turn away.
“PC Attwood was off duty, on his own and without his personal protective equipment.
“But his instincts told him something wasn’t right so he bravely went to investigate and confront criminals armed with machetes.
“It is thanks to his courage and to the subsequent work of Bedfordshire Police that two violent offenders are now behind bars.
“The public are safer as a result.
“PC Attwood’s actions demonstrated the very best of policing – bravery, dedication, a commitment to service and a passionate drive to protect people.
“All of us at the Met are incredibly proud to call him a colleague.”
Detective Inspector Caeva Taylor from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit said: “PC Attwood was off-duty at the time of the offence and courageously stepped in to prevent any further harm to the public, risking his own life to do so.
“The Mahmoods now face a lengthy prison sentence and I am pleased that they are no longer free to carry out wanton violence on Bedfordshire’s streets.”
In sentencing, Judge Hunter KC thanked PC Attwood for his service and made an application for a High Sheriff’s Award.
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