An armed robber knifed a cop six or seven times in a drug-fuelled rage while being arrested for a raid in which he told a terrified shop worker: "I don't want to stab you, but I will if I have to."
Stephen Unsworth knifed the PC with such ferocity the blade snapped.
The officer caught the 36-year-old as as he was fleeing the Wigan store with £100 in cash.
The cop was stabbed to the torso and arm as he and a colleague tussled with Unsworth.
The injured officer only escaped with minor injuries as he was wearing body armour.
A couple of shop assistants terrorised by Unsworth during the raid were left traumatised.
A court heard one was left with cuts to her hand and a red mark on her back from where the knife was placed.
The broken blade from the kitchen knife was found at the scene.
Unsworth, from Wigan, said to be a 'chronic' drug addict has previous convictions for robbery and was on parole having served a six month prison sentence for having a blade.
He was jailed for eight-and-a-half years at Bolton Crown Court after admitting three charges of robbery; wounding with intent to resist arrest; and possessing a bladed article in a public place.
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The court earlier heard Unsworth stormed the AM to PM store on Gidlow Lane in Wigan as two members of staff were closing up at around 10pm on Sunday, October 8 last year.
As one of the women was closing the front door, Unsworth pulled out a knife then held it to her colleague.
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"I don’t want to stab you, but I will if I have to," he told her.
Unsworth demanded cash and was handed £100 float from the till. He demanded the contents of the safe, but when the victims were unable to open it, he took cash from one of the women's purse.
He then pointed the knife towards her neck before attempting to snatch cigarettes and alochol.
Residents called police and Unsworth ran away when he heard sirens, before hiding behind a parked car.
An officer sneaked up behind Unsworth and put his hand on his shoulder. The thug then stabbed the officer, who felt up to seven blows.
A colleague rushed to the scene to find the pair struggling and the officer saying: “He’s stabbing me”.
The other officer tried to use his Taser on Unsworth, but stopped as he feared accidentally injuring his colleague.
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Both eventually overpowered Unsworth. The stabbed officer sustained minor injuries to the torso between his armour - and groin and injuries to his arm.
Sentencing, Judge Martin Walsh told Unsworth: ''You hid behind parked vehicles in an attempt to evade apprehension but [the officer] approached you and sought to restrain you.
"A struggle ensued, and during the course of that struggle you attempted to stab [the officer] six or seven times with the knife which you had with you when you had carried out the robbery.
"The attempt was unsuccessful. [The officer] was fortunately wearing a stab vest, which deflected the blows.
"You were eventually overpowered and arrested. A broken kitchen knife was recovered from the floor close to where the struggle had taken place.
"Fortunately, the wounds were not serious, and I have no doubt that this was because the officer had been wearing body armour. Had this not been the case then the consequences could have been catastrophic.
"The intent was not to cause grievous bodily harm, but to resist arrest and I must have regard to this.
"Nevertheless, a knife was repeatedly used in an attempt to stab the arresting officer during the struggle that took place.
"Although only minor injury was actually inflicted, you attempted to stab a police officer with a knife in order to resist arrest.
"The fact that serious injury or worse was avoided was because the officer was wearing body armour at the time."
