A judge said an Asda security guard was "there to protect the public" as she jailed a man for threatening him with a knife.
Sean Mulligan, 43, of Flewitt Gardens, St Ann's, was given 18 months in prison after a jury found him guilty of threatening another with an article with a blade or point.
Judge Sally Hancox told Mulligan that when he was stopped and spoken to by the security guard, "What you should have done is kept your counsel. Kept calm and the matter may have been over in moments.
"You showed the Stanley knife at waist height with a blade exposed.
"By threatening him with a knife, you threatened someone who was there as a public servant, who was there to protect the public".
The guard said the incident happened when he was on duty at the Arnold branch of Asda, after following a man out of the store.
He said that he saw "a safety cutter" and alerted passers-by as he hung onto Mulligan - who later claimed he had tried to evade the guard by saying he had a knife, but never pulled it out.
Hal Ewing, prosecuting at Nottingham Crown Court, had asked Mulligan: "Why did you tell him you had a knife?"
Mulligan had replied: "Because I thought he would let me go."
The guard had told the jury: "He said 'leave me, let me go. I have got a knife and I'll stab you.' He was struggling. I managed to get his shirt.
"I asked him 'where is my stuff?'" in a reference to items he suspected had been stolen at about 3.15pm on October 6.
Man found guilty of sexual assault after pinning a woman down on his bed
He described the "safety cutter" as having a red handle and "a blade which was not very long."
When he saw the object, he said: "I pushed him at arm's length. I said 'I am not going to let you go until the police come.'"
The alarm was raised and the guard got help from another man in detaining Mulligan, who the court heard is now drug-free.
Richard Purchase, defending, said after the jury's verdict on Monday, April 1: "Despite his extensive record, there are no offences involving bladed articles and there appears to be none involving weapons at all".
Man told housing officer he was going to set his neighbour's flat on fire
Two men convicted after fight in Arnold McDonald's leaves people 'fearing for safety'
