A knife-wielding covidiot who breached lockdown rules for an all-day lager binge with a friend has been jailed for a year.
Dale Ogden, 32, chased a man around Piccadilly Gardens in Manchester while holding a knife, before becoming involved in a standoff with police.
The dad, who later told medics he had been drinking a bottle of vodka a day, had to be put on the floor by police following the incident during the coronavirus lockdown in the city centre.
Officers were called after Ogden, from Wythenshawe, was seen chasing a man at about 5pm on April 21, Manchester Crown Court heard.
He was chasing the man 'in circles'. When officers arrived, they found them near Portland Street, reports the Manchester Evening News.
Ogden then turned his attentions to the officers, prosecutor Rachel Widdicombe said.
He began to 'advance' towards them, with the knife still in his hands.
Despite repeatedly being told to drop the blade, Ogden continued to move towards them.
An officer hit Ogden to his legs with a baton to subdue him. As he was taken to the floor, he dropped the knife.
Ms Widdicombe said officers 'feared for their lives' and for the safety of those nearby.
Ogden continued to struggle and was verbally abusive while being detained.
He appeared at Manchester Magistrates' Court the following day and was fined £75 for breaching the coronavirus lockdown laws - by being in the city centre without good reason.
After being arrested, Ogden said he 'didn't know' why he was in the city centre and that he couldn't remember chasing anyone.
Defending, Nick Ross said that Ogden now says he took the bus into Manchester with a 'so called friend', who later asked him to hold the knife for him.
Ogden is 'unsure' why he became involved in a dispute with the man in Piccadilly Gardens, his lawyer said.
He was in 'blind panic' and didn't want to threaten the police, the court heard.
Mr Ross said Ogden disputes drinking a bottle of vodka a day, but accepts he was drinking 'quite a significant amount'.
Judge Suzanne Goddard QC, describing the blade as a 'very nasty looking knife indeed', said she regarded Ogden's 'vague' explanation as 'unacceptable' and 'nonsensical', but said it would not make a difference to the sentence imposed.
The judge said: "It is suggested on your behalf that you had been prevailed upon by a 'friend' to travel into Manchester city centre that day.
"You had no good reason for being in the city centre at all.
"You were reported to the police as being in the Piccadilly Gardens area, which is where there is a great deal of crime that goes on, even during the lockdown period."
Ogden, from Wythenshawe, was jailed for 12 months after pleading guilty to possessing a knife in public.
