Moment Taser-wielding police swoop on youth who was hiding massive Rambo knife in his trousers - but the 17-year-old is NOT put behind bars

By WILL HALLOWELL, NEWS REPORTER and MARTIN ROBINSON, CHIEF REPORTER Published: 11:34, 17 July 2026 | Updated: 11:47, 17 July 2026 This is the moment Taser-wielding police officers swoop on a youth who is hiding a massive Rambo knife in his trousers.  Bodyworn video footage shows the 'eagle-eyed' officers pouncing on the teenager whom they suspect of concealing the blade beneath his clothes.  Within seconds, the Met Police officers leap out of a patrol car and stop the youth in his tracks at a bus stop.  They draw their Tasers and swiftly pin him to the ground before arresting him and seizing the giant blade.  But the 17-year-old has avoided time behind bars and has instead been handed a referral order as he is considered juvenile. Just seconds before he is caught, police spot the knife before springing into action to arrest the teenager.  One officer is heard saying: 'That's a knife isn't it, the outline of a knife?' They swoop in on the bus stop with the officer then shouting: 'Police officers with a Taser! Get on the floor now! Get on the floor! Get down! You're detained under Section 1 of PACE [Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984].'  Met Police officers sprang into action when they spotted a youth carrying a massive Rambo knife in his waistband The 17-year-old suspect was swiftly apprehended and the blade (pictured) was seized With the suspect now laying on the ground, another officer says: 'Put your hands behind your back.'  The youth is then arrested for possession of an offensive weapon. A police officer adds: 'We've got a large Rambo knife recovered.'  The suspect is asked whether he is an adult or juvenile, to which he responds by confirming the latter, adding that he is 17 years old - meaning he has avoided being sent to prison.   Sharing the footage on social media on Friday, the Metropolitan Police said: 'When eagle-eyed officers spotted a young man carrying a large Rambo knife tucked into his waistband, they quickly sprang into action. 'The suspect was detained under stop and search powers, arrested, and the weapon seized. 'Last year alone, officers removed 2,894 knives from our streets.' Despite the successful arrest, the suspect has avoided a custodial sentence due to his age.  Instead, he was handed a referral order which can be issued to young people between the ages of 10 and 17 who have appeared in court for the first time and pleaded guilty to the charge.  The suspect has avoided a custodial sentence due to his age. As a juvenile, he was instead handed a referral order  Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp criticised the decision to hand the youth a referral order instead of prison time, saying people who carry knives should face 'real consequences'  Referral orders involve specially trained volunteer panel members, the young person and their parents or carers, a Youth Justice Service worker and in many cases the victim of the offence. All parties meet to negotiate a contract of payback to the victim or community and a programme of work to address offending behaviour. They are issued instead of custodial sentences with the aim of preventing re-offending by making sure young people are made aware of the impact and consequences of their criminal activity. They also aim to give juvenile defendants a second chance at a non-criminal future as the sentence is spent at the end of the order, which can range anywhere between three and 12 months.  But the decision to spare the youth from a custodial sentence has been condemned by Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp, who said people who carry knives should face 'real consequences'.  He told the Daily Mail: 'It's a joke that a youth swaggering down the street with a massive machete is simply given a youth referral order - which means he faces next to no consequences.  'We need to take knives off the streets - which means carrying them must mean real consequences.  'Prison or hundreds of hours of community service at a minimum should be the consequences.  'And if he gets caught carrying a knife again, prison should be mandatory even for youths. If there are no real consequences then crime will just spiral.'