Off-duty officer who tackled an armed shoplifter nominated for bravery award

8 May 2025

An off-duty officer who tackled a knife-wielding shoplifter in a busy town centre says he is ‘gobsmacked’ to be nominated for a national Police Bravery Award.

Acting Sergeant Rishi Thobhani said ‘I was just doing my job’ when he confronted the offender with children and families were in the area.

He described it as ‘a proud moment’ when he was told he had been nominated for the award by Nottinghamshire Police Federation.

And he said he wished he could have shared it with his mum, who died nine years ago.

 

Acting Sergeant Rishi Thobhani.

 

Rishi said: “I was gobsmacked to be told I’d been nominated.

“When I came off the phone, I cried. I lost my mum in 2016. I’ve always wanted to be a police officer since I was about six years old.

“Being nominated is one of those moments that I wished I could share with my mum.”

The incident happened in Arnold town centre at around 3.30pm on Thursday 30 May.

Stolen

Rishi was going for a walk in Arnot Hill Park after a challenging day of blue light driving training.

As he was walking to the park, he noticed staff from Poundland chasing a man, who had just stolen a number of items from the store.

The offender was Michael Delaney, a prolific shoplifter known for intimidating staff and using threats of violence.

Rishi identified himself as a police officer and instructed Delaney to stop, but when he refused, a foot chase ensued.

As Rishi closed the distance on Delaney, the offender produced a large kitchen knife and threatened to stab the officer if he continued to follow him.

Rishi said: “It startled me a bit. I circled him and shouted for him to drop the knife.

“There were young people walking nearby and I shouted to them the man had a knife and to come past me.

Prison

“He was shouting things like ‘I’m not going back to prison’ and ‘I’ll hurt you if I have to’.

“It was 3.30pm, there were children and families about. My priority was to keep people safe.”

Rishi continued to engage with Delaney, while dialling 999 and reporting the incident to the Force control room.

Delaney continued to walk away and back towards Arnold town centre, a busy shopping area, which Rishi recognised presented an increased threat and risk to members of the public.

Rishi said: “I thought I can’t let him onto the High Street, where there are families and children.

Initially his hand was up all the time, pointing the knife at me, but at one point he turned his face and his hand went down towards his leg, like he’d dropped his guard.

“That was when I closed him down, trusting my own capabilities. Ultimately I wanted to protect the public.”

Rishi added: “I went to grab his right hand, which was holding the knife, but he realised I was near him and swapped hands.

Knife

“He swung his left hand holding the knife towards my ribs.

“I don’t know how, but reaction and training took over and I caught his hand and stopped him centimetres away from me.

“I pinned him against a fence and was telling him to drop the knife, and I’m a police officer.”

With the tip of the knife centimetres from his face, Rishi managed to pull it away from him and take Delaney to the ground and disarm him.

 

 

He was assisted by members of the public in keeping Delaney detained, until on-duty officers arrived and Delaney could be handcuffed.

Rishi said: “I’ve not joined the job for money or medals. I know why I’m in the police and it is exactly why I did what I did on the day.

“Even if I wasn’t a police officer, I’d have done the same thing. I joined the police to protect the community.

“I knew that if Delaney didn’t hurt me, I strongly believed he was going to hurt someone else.”

Courage

Delaney, aged 35, of no fixed address, admitted to a number of shop thefts, possession of a bladed article and threatening a person with a bladed article. He was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment at Nottingham Crown Court on 24 October.

Rishi will represent Nottinghamshire Police at the Police Federation of England and Wales Bravery Awards in London in July.

“It’ll be a really proud moment,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to be a police officer and do the right thing.

“To then be nominated for something like this, which happened 18 months into my career, is amazing.

“Police officers are doing brave things every day, so it’s  nice to have that recognised.”

Nottinghamshire Police Federation chair Simon Riley said: “Rishi displayed incredible courage to confront a knife-wielding offender while off duty and on his own and without his personal protective equipment.

“Without any thought for himself, he put his own safety at risk to protect the public.

“He acted in the best traditions of policing, going above and beyond the call of duty to disarm a dangerous offender, who was wanted for multiple offences.

“Rishi’s nomination for the police bravery award is thoroughly deserved and on behalf of Nottinghamshire Police Federation I wish him the best of luck.”

Chief Inspector Paul Hennessy added: “What PC Thobhani did that day was remarkably brave. He went above and beyond to ensure a dangerous offender was taken off our streets.

Protect

“Response officers put themselves in harm’s way every day to protect the public and ensure the streets of our city and county are safe.

“It is why they do what they do, and this example is a fitting testament to their outstanding work in our communities.”

Chief Constable Kate Meynell said: “The commitment, professionalism, and dedication displayed by PC Thobhani is not only a credit to himself but also demonstrates the best of personal values and attributes in policing.

“Despite being off duty PC Thobhani did not hesitate to try and detain a male who had committed shop theft.

“He continued in his endeavours even when the male threatened him with a knife, undeterred by the knife PC Thobhani continued to try and detain the male. 

“Due to the actions and demeanour of the male PC Thobhani was concerned that the male was about to enter the main shopping area and as a result he took decisive action and physically wrestled the armed male to the ground, mitigating the risk he posed with immediate effect. 

“PC Thobhani put himself at significant personal risk while off duty, accordingly he was not in possession of any of his PPE nor did he have any colleagues to assist him.

“Despite this he demonstrated immense bravery and dedication prioritising the safety of the public over his own.
“I am in no doubt that his actions meant that a dangerous male was removed from a busy shopping area before any members of the public or indeed himself were injured.”

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