Armed police rushed into Luton town centre after a CCTV operator spotted Marcus Kitching armed with a knife and behaving in a threatening manner.
But after he was arrested and taken back to Luton police station, drunken Kitching then hurled racially aggravated insults at at officer in the custody area and threw a polystyrene cup of water over a woman officer.
On Thursday, December 23, 2021, 35-year-old Kitching of Chapel Street in Luton appeared in custody at Luton Crown Court.
He pleaded guilty to threatening another with an article with a blade or point, causing racially aggravated intentional harassment, alarm and distress, and assaulting an emergency worker. Kitching appeared via a video link from Bedford Prison.
Prosecotor Charles Judge told how on the night of August 21 last year, a CCTV operator was able to observe the defendant and as he and another man walked through the town centre.
The court heard how the operator then saw the two men engage in a brief scuffle, during which Kitching took out a knife to threaten the other man with.
Mr Judge said the operator then tracked Kitching as he made his way through the town centre to Church Street and go into a car park where he was seen to approach two parked cars.
At the second vehicle he stood by the driver’s door and with the knife made a stabbing motion towards the window.
From there Kitching made his way out of the car park to the junction of Guildford Street and Church Street where armed, police having been alerted, arrived in the scene. Dropping to the ground as ordered by the officers, Kitching was handcuffed and a knife and a screwdriver were found on him.
He was taken into custody and back at Luton Police Station he swore in Punjabi at an Asian officer of Pakistani origin making offensive remarks about his family.
As he was led away to a cell he turned back to the same officer to shout: “You f…… Paki.”
Mr Judge said as a woman police sergeant went to arrest him for that matter, he threw an empty sandwich box at her, before throwing the cup of water over her.
Recorder Patrick Fields hearing thr case was told that Kitching had chalked up 27 previous convictions for a total of 39 offences.
Carl Woolfe defending said his client had been drinking heavily that night and had no recollection of the events that led to his arrest.
He said from an early age Kitching had involved with the care system and drug and alcohol misuse.
Mr Wolfe said that on that night his home had been “cuckooed” by others dealing in drugs and so he had gone out drinking. The court was told he had obtained a knife that evening intending to take it back with him to his home, but in then end decided not to return because of the drug activity going on.
The Mr Woolfe said he had gone to the car park looking for a car he could sleep in. He said Kitching had been compliant when the officers arrived on the scene and he said at the heart of the case was a “drug and alcohol issue.”
The court was told that while in prison on remand Kitching had started receiving help from a mental health team.
Recorder Fields jailed him for a total of 58 weeks.
