Officers believed it was real at the time due to it being dark
Bizarre CCTV images show the moment a thug tried to carjack police officers – armed with a ‘gun’ made from a Primark brown paper bag. Matthew Sylvester, 37, was captured on camera chasing a police car while pointing the imitation firearm at cops in Telford, Shropshire, on February 22.
Officers had been called after Sylvester tried to smash his way into a shop with a shopping trolley before exposing himself to staff cashing up inside. A court heard he then wrapped a jumper around his face and fashioned a ‘gun’ from a brown Primark bag after learning police were on their way.
Once he spotted the patrol car enter the car park through the barrier, he immediately charged at the vehicle, brandishing his makeshift weapon. Officers believed the firearm was genuine as it was dark and tried to flee the scene only to get stuck behind the car park barriers.
Sylvester was then seen pointing the ‘gun’ at the passenger window before kicking the vehicle and trying to open the boot. PC Dan Arthur and PC George Oliver bravely jumped from the vehicle before apprehending Sylvester following a short foot chase.
It was only then they established the firearm was in fact a brown paper bag Sylvester had folded in a way to mimic a handgun. Sylvester, of no fixed abode, was arrested for a number of offences, including having an imitation firearm and assaulting an emergency worker.
He was later charged with two counts of assaulting an emergency worker, possession of an imitation firearm to cause distress, possession of class A drugs and attempted burglary. Sylvester pleaded guilty to all charges at Shrewsbury Crown Court half way through his week-long trial last Wednesday. He was jailed for 19 months at the same court on Friday.
Sentencing, Recorder Anthony Warner said: “You spoke of a gun and the paper you had shaped certainly looked like a gun and that would have been very frightening to the police officers and anybody else who was there.”
The court was told Sylvester was having some sort of “delusion” when he tried to batter down the door of the store at around 10pm in Telford town centre. Prosecuting, Danny Smith, said he was banging on the glass doors after the shop was closed and was demanding to be let in.
Mr Smith said: “He stated he had a gun and demanded the door was opened or he was going to shoot. It is fair to say, they (the store workers) never actually believed he had a gun so they took out a phone out and started recording him.”
He said Sylvester then used shopping trolleys to try to smash his way inside and when that failed “lowered his trousers and showed his penis and buttocks”. Police were called and two officers arrived on the scene.
Mr Smith said Sylvester then took out a “brown Primark bag” that he had just fashioned it into a gun-shape in a corner of the car park. He also wrapped some black cloth around his face in a makeshift balaclava.
Mr Smith said: “He shouted ‘I have a gun’ and aimed it at the police car and demanded the officers both get out. When they refused, Sylvester attempted to open the boot of the police car. Being concerned at what he might take out of the car, the officers bravely got out.”
The court heard Sylvester had 34 previous convictions to his name, for 84 offences, and was on licence when the incident occurred, having just been released from prison for a “similar offence”.
Paul Smith, for Sylvester, said his client had been “sleeping rough” as he was homeless after having just left prison and was having a “delusional period”, likely due to the cocaine he had been taking at the time.
Chief Inspector Matt Sanders, of West Mercia Police, said after the case: “When officers are sent to an ongoing incident they are going into the unknown. That night, PC Arthur and PC Oliver responded to an attempted burglary, and came face-to-face with a man whose clear intention was to cause harm and distress to police.
“Sylvester’s actions were calculated, going to great lengths to ensure officers were called to the scene, including threatening members of the public and trying to break into a shop. He covered his face with a jumper to ensure he wasn’t recognised by officers before manipulating an object to look like a small firearm so he could threaten whoever was responding.
“The bravery and professionalism shown by both PCs that evening was nothing short of extraordinary. Fortunately, neither officer sustained any injuries, and Sylvester was swiftly arrested thanks to the quick thinking and actions of both officers that night, along with those who also came to their aid.
“No one should come to work and face violence, and we thank our officers that day for their bravery and dedication to keeping communities safe.”