Armed police used to arrest Middleton man

The pair of officers with guns went into action when a suspect wanted in connection with an alleged domestic violence incident was seen driving along Elmer Road.

He was stopped outside the Mandarin Chef Chinese takeaway. As well as two armed officers, there were several other police officers present.

A witness told the Observer about the shock of seeing policemen with guns in the area. The incident happened about 5.45pm on January 22, though brief details have only just become clear.

It is believed the suspect made threats with a machete in a domestic incident elsewhere in the Bognor area.

Details of his car were circulated to police officers on patrol and the vehicle was seen in Middleton. The risk he posed to the public with having the weapon in his car made the chief inspector on duty at the time authorise the presence of the armed officers.

It has not been revealed whether the armed officers actively stopped the vehicle and spoke to the suspect or if they were present as a back-up to the unarmed officers in case there was any threat to their safety.

Bognor police station's Inspector John Merrick said: "There are armed police officers on duty in Sussex 24 hours a day.

"It will be up to the silver commander on duty at the time, of the rank of chief inspector or above, to make the decision about whether they should be deployed."

The round-the-clock presence of armed officers should serve as a warning, he stated, to anyone who possessed a ball-bearing gun or an air rifle.

Police in Bognor did occasionally receive calls from alarmed members of the public who had seen an individual with a gun.

The incidents invariably turned out to involve ball-bearing guns or air rifles but the police had no hesitation in using armed officers in response to such calls.

This meant the suspect could find themselves on the wrong end of a weapon ready to be fired, he added.

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