Man Tasered by police while armed with knife is jailed
Derrick Thompson was jailed at Ipswich Crown Court - Credit: Suffolk police
An intoxicated man who was Tasered twice by police while armed with a knife in Ipswich has been jailed.
Derrick Thompson had been drinking and sniffing lighter fluid before he went to his ex-partner's flat in Birkfield Drive, Ipswich, on August 30 last year to try to pick up some of his clothes.
An arrangement had been made for him to do this, but he decided to go a day earlier because he needed his work clothes, Ipswich Crown Court heard.
His former partner was not happy to let him in on that day, and Thompson became emotional and upset, the court heard.
In the communal area, he proceeded to cut himself with a knife before police arrived.
Thompson then held the kitchen knife to his own throat and kept hold of the weapon, despite instructions from officers for him to drop it.
The officer was then forced to deploy his Taser twice on Thompson to subdue him.
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A number of neighbours witnessed the incident and described being "terrified" by Thompson's behaviour.
Thompson, 34, of Riverside Road, Ipswich, previously pleaded guilty to possessing a bladed article and assault on an emergency worker.
The court heard that Thompson had 16 previous convictions for 34 offences, including possessing a bladed article.
Steven Dyble, mitigating, said Thompson had enjoyed an "on-off" relationship with the woman for five or six years, but the relationship ended a few days before this incident.
"At no point was the contact physical or the knife pointed at her, " Mr Dyble said.
He added there was "no direct violence" towards the officer.
Mr Dyble said that Thompson had not contacted his former partner since the incident, had not reoffended and was also addressing a butane gas addiction.
Sentencing Thompson on Thursday, Judge Rupert Overbury said: "The whole situation was extremely serious and could have been so more serious than it actually turned out.
"Unpredictable, intoxicated, holding such a weapon could have caused serious disorder, or indeed could have caused someone else serious harm."
Judge Overbury sentenced Thompson to 18 months for possession of a bladed article, and four months for the assault on the emergency worker, to run concurrently.
The judge also imposed a restraining order banning Thompson from contacting his former partner.
