Moment cops take down fugitive who had ventured out of hiding in lockdown to buy Call of Duty

THIS is the moment two cops took down a fugitive who had come out of hiding in lockdown to buy Call of Duty.

Clint Butler kicked one officer in the groin before cops used pepper spray and arrested him.

Initially Butler gave cops a false name before admitting who he was and that he’d absconded from HMP Spring Hill, an open prison in Buckinghamshire.

He had been serving a 17-year sentence for a number of crimes, including robbery and firearms offences, which was due to end in 2024.

Butler fled the prison at around midnight on November 28 last year and Thames Valley Police issued a wanted appeal but urged the public not to approach him if he was spotted.

Cops in Birmingham city centre on January 13 became suspicious when the saw Butler and a friend change direction when they spotted two cops in Martineau Way.

PC Owen asked Butler why he was in town during lockdown, and his friend replied: “I’ve come to get the new Call of Duty because I can’t sit around in lockdown.”

When PC Owen said he’d be checking their details, Butler lashed out and kicked him in the groin.

The officers tackled him as they called for back-up, as Butler punched PC Brown in the face and became trapped under him at one point.

The cops used pepper spray before Butler finally gave up and was handcuffed, as security guards came to help the officers.

Butler initially gave a false name, and admitted having cannabis on him, but his real identity was quickly established and now he is back behind bars.

He was jailed for 13 months for absconding from prison, and six months consecutively for assaulting the officers.

Supt Nick Rowe said: “This was great work by our officers, acting on instinct that there was something not quite right and then challenging the men.

“The situation escalated really quickly, but both PCs put their training to good effect by restraining Butler, subduing him and getting him safely in handcuffs, while also calling for back-up from officers nearby.

“I’d like to thank the security staff who came to help our officers.

“It also shows the power of body-worn video, with the officers turning their cameras on before they started speaking to the men. It meant the whole episode was clearly caught on camera and there was no doubt about what happened.

“Quite why he decided to risk being returned to prison by making the idiotic decision to come into town during lockdown with a friend to buy a video game will remain a bit of a mystery.”

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