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Pc was killed tackling knifeman | Pc was killed tackling knifeman |
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A police officer was stabbed to death when he went to tackle a man with a knife, a court has heard. | A police officer was stabbed to death when he went to tackle a man with a knife, a court has heard. |
Ikechukwu Tennyson Obih is accused of murdering Pc Jon Henry, 36, in Luton town centre on 11 June 2007. | Ikechukwu Tennyson Obih is accused of murdering Pc Jon Henry, 36, in Luton town centre on 11 June 2007. |
Mr Obih, 29, of Winsdon Road in Luton, admits manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility but has denied murder. | |
Luton Crown Court heard he also denies the attempted murder of two window cleaners on the same day. | Luton Crown Court heard he also denies the attempted murder of two window cleaners on the same day. |
The attempted murder charges relate to Steven Chamberlain and David Knight. | |
'Violent incidents' | 'Violent incidents' |
Mr Obih, who is known as Tennyson, also denies charges of aggravated burglary and assault, in a separate incident on the same day. | |
The court heard Pc Henry's death was part of a "series of violent incidents" that left or the other victims injured. | |
Richard Latham QC, prosecuting, said that shortly after 0700 BST on 11 June, 55-year-old Mr Chamberlain arrived in George Street in his car. | |
When Mr Obih stood in the spot where he was intending to park, there was a row between the two men. | |
Mr Latham said the defendant delivered a heavy blow with his right fist to the car's passenger side window before opening the nearside door and trying to wrench it off its hinges. | |
A short time later, as Mr Chamberlain removed his window cleaning equipment from his vehicle, he felt a blow to his back and reached behind him to discover he was bleeding, Mr Latham added. | |
It was at that point the first 999 call was made to the police. | |
Mr Knight, who had been nearby and had armed himself with an extendable window cleaning pole, saw the defendant walking in the direction of the town hall and approached him. | |
Mr Obih had a "distorted perception of reality", prosecutors say | Mr Obih had a "distorted perception of reality", prosecutors say |
Mr Obih is said to have threatened to stab him if he kept following him and then pulled a knife from his pocket. | |
By this time police officers were making their way to the scene. Among them was Pc Henry, who was wearing a stab proof vest, but it had not been fastened to the top. | |
When officers told Mr Obih to put the knife down, Pc Henry moved behind him and took out his police baton. | |
"Suddenly he rushed and lunged at him, stabbing him in the upper chest area just above the vest with the knife he was carrying," said Mr Latham. | |
The court heard Pc Henry fell to the ground and Mr Obih then stabbed him again in the chest area. | |
A large baton round fired by an armed response team failed to stop him and it was only when he was stunned for the second time by a taser gun that the officers were able to overpower him. | |
Earlier Mr Latham told the jury Mr Obih had arrived in the UK from Nigeria in 2000 and then started abusing alcohol and cannabis. | |
Mr Latham said family members had described "a significant deterioration in his mental state" between 2000 and 2003 and he was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2005. | |
Mr Latham told the court it was the prosecution's belief that Mr Obih was not suffering an "acute phase" of schizophrenia on the morning Pc Henry was killed. | Mr Latham told the court it was the prosecution's belief that Mr Obih was not suffering an "acute phase" of schizophrenia on the morning Pc Henry was killed. |
The trial continues. | The trial continues. |
Tennyson Obih denies murdering Pc Jon Henry |