UK man imprisoned for 4 months after walking up to cops with 6" Master Sword
pcgamer.com>What’s missing from every report about this I could find, and what is so crucial to understanding this story, however is that Anthony Bray is a repeat offender with a long rap sheet and numerous prison sentences, several of which were for burglary including serial burglary. In 2011, Bray was convicted and sentenced to four years in prison after getting “three strikes” for burgling residences. But his run-ins with the law go back to 1989 and he was in court numerous times throughout the 90s as well.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2024/07/03/zelda-maste...
That thing looks less dangerous than a decent pen. Def less risky than a rock. Four months in prison for this seems like abuse. This could result in lost job, lost housing, etc, for a toy. Why do people support this?
> Why do people support this?
Most probably don't - but who's asking them? And the perception of high violent crime rates gets many people anxious and scared, and eager to rubber-stamp all sorts of zero tolerance/zero intelligence machismo policing and justice.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-42749089
Knife crime isn't a joke.
What if you're being stabbed by a clown?
They don't show it "open", and i don't know enough about what it is to spend any time finding the actual "toy" to see how dangerous it looks.
What happens, though, is the police will do something and then post-hoc rationalize it. Without video there's no way i can believe he was "brandishing" this "toy". Some guy who pointed a single finger at a cop in the US recently received a $175,000 payout after being arrested and charged because he was constitutionally protected by the first amendment for his "speech". Didn't stop the cops from arresting an older man, though.
I've seen a lot of abuse under the color of authority articles and videos and analysis, so here's a possible series of events. Bray may be a little touched - the article skates around this, but in a high crime area, someone who's a little weird or different or moving differently may find the police initiating contact. Bray may have had this toy on a keychain or near his hand, and on a frisk or whatever the police found it. Bray may not have "cooperated" fully with the invasion on his person, so is arrested, and charged with having a bladed weapon.
I was witness to police threatening someone with being charged with having a sawed-off shotgun for merely transporting a pneumatic potato cannon in their trunk. Why were they pulled over? Their license plate lights weren't bright enough because a bug had gotten into the lens and died - you know, "let's harass the poors" sort of policing.
Another case of "zero tolerance" meaning "zero thought".
Other examples include students for fighting when they use self-defense.
Are you sure? Can you stab someone with it?
Guardian piece is more in depth and detailed
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/article/2024/jul/03/man-...
For everyone freaking out over this:
It's a 6 inch metal blade, and he was walking along a public street, holding it unsheathed in front of him. He still had it out in front of him when he approached the police and they arrested him.
I'd expect the same thing for any 6 inch blade being brandished in public, and would be worried about anyone doing such a thing.
Is it legally a blade if it isn't sharp? I'd think the biggest danger would be similar to any toy, just poking someone's eye.
The tip is sharp enough.
But jailtime is too much for being just stupid.
Yeah, that is more or less what the police said.
> "We take a zero tolerance to bladed articles in public, and Bray has fallen afoul of this," said Sergeant Spellman of the police's Patrol Investigations Unit, "It is possible to find fidget toys that aren’t six-inch blades. It is possible not to walk down the street holding them out in front of you. With a bit more self-awareness, Bray could have avoided contact with us completely."
the absolute state of UK law enforcement has proven American constitutionalist claims of a slippery slope for both gun control and hate legislation.
> "It is possible to find fidget toys that aren’t six-inch blades. It is possible not to walk down the street holding them out in front of you.“
Was he arrested while emulating Zelda NES with it? That would explain how this happened and also why they’re so upset: not because they care about Zelda or not, but because the significant risk of someone taking a fatal injury to a six inch blade held out in front of you on a public walkway.
The guy just needs to play → A ↓ → A ↓, and those 4 months will go by like a breeze.
Clown Island strikes again
So "lack of self-awareness" is now punishable in the UK by 4 months in jail?
[Facepalm/]
Whatever the local knife crime rate might be, if this guy has no links to criminal activity or gangs, then I'm thinking that 4 months in His Majesty's chokey (plus a £154 fine) is really not a win for either the Crown's or public's interests.
Lecture the guy for being an idiot, give him a menu of (1) 4 hours in the stocks, in public, under an "I Wuz A Moron" sign, (2) 400 hours charity work for a Zeldathon-linked charity, and (3) £4,000 fine, and tell him to pick any two of those.
No criminal activity?
>What’s missing from every report about this I could find, and what is so crucial to understanding this story, however is that Anthony Bray is a repeat offender with a long rap sheet and numerous prison sentences, several of which were for burglary including serial burglary. In 2011, Bray was convicted and sentenced to four years in prison after getting “three strikes” for burgling residences. But his run-ins with the law go back to 1989 and he was in court numerous times throughout the 90s as well.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2024/07/03/zelda-maste...
My, how very interesting! And how very damning - both of Mr. Bray, and of gamer "journalism".
Did he threaten anyone ? Did he have a prior record ?
Article is lite on details, but if no priors and no threats, I would say maybe a £1000 File and community service would be enough.
I do not know the laws in the UK, is it illegal to carry any type of blade in public ?
You can carry a knife with a blade up to 3" as long as it's non-locking (i.e. flips open and closed like a Swiss army knife and you don't need to hold a button to close it). You can also carry much more dangerous stuff like a scythe but you need to prove you've got a good reason (like it's your trade) and I think it needs to be wrapped or covered somehow to stop some scallywag grabbing it.
Unless I'm wrong, which I likely am.
> is it illegal to carry any type of blade in public ?
My impression from what I have seen through the years in the news (I live in the US), this is the case. I remember seeing London police would setup check points in the metro and check passengers for knifes. To my surprise, most common weapons they would find - kitchen knives.
Clearly caught them having a bad day
Considering that a woman was arrested for silently (as in without sound or words) praying in front of an abortion clinic? No. This is standard asinine British police behavior. This guy was a bit of an idiot, but the British police are a few IQ points above Muppet.
above/under …tbd
The memes about knife crime in the UK are true...
Ban assault knives.