Footage shows moment man was arrested over attack on Army officer

Footage has been shown in court of the moment an attacker of a uniformed Army officer was arrested outside his home.

Anthony Esan is set to be sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court for the attempted murder of Lieutenant Colonel Mark Teeton in Sally Port Gardens, near Brompton Barracks, Chatham, Kent, on July 23 2024.

The 25-year-old was due to stand trial for the attack and possession of two bladed weapons this month but instead pleaded guilty to the crimes in January.

On the second day of sentencing, the court was shown footage of Esan on his knees on the pavement, with his hands on his head, as two officers pointed tasers before one handcuffed him at 6.17pm.

He is beside his moped parked on the road which he used to travel to and from the attack which happened at 5.53pm.

He was tracked quickly because many witnesses were able to report his registration number.

At his arrest, Esan, of Rochester, makes references to the “day of the devil”, “Enoch”, “365 in a year” and tells officers his name is Esan which means “karma”.

These are all terms he searched for online in the lead up to the attack. He also searched for knives, TikTok videos of knife attacks and “Woolwich soldier murdered”, believed to be a reference to the murder of soldier Lee Rigby in 2013.

The court also heard that, two days after the stabbing, Esan told a doctor at Belmarsh prison that his brother was in the Army and they had an argument so he had gone looking for an officer to attack but since then he has said it could have been anyone.

The prosecution’s case is that Esan targeted Lt Col Teeton because of his appearance as a soldier.

Dr Saji Nabi, a consultant forensic psychiatrist who has been treating Esan at Broadmoor Hospital, told the court on Tuesday she thinks it is more likely he went out looking for a soldier to stab.

This is based on the argument with his brother, that he had been rejected from the military on several occasions and later Esan has spoken about being in the film Kingsman, which has soldiers in it.

The court heard that since the middle of last year Esan said he felt he was in the film and a video game called Cyberpunk, and he believed his role was to “deliver and shoot”.

The court also heard evidence from another expert witness in forensic psychiatry, Professor Nigel Blackwood, that he did not believe Esan when he said his target could have been anyone.

Prof Blackwood was asked by prosecutor Alison Morgan KC if he thinks Esan’s account on selecting a target was untruthful. He replied: “I think he tries to minimise choosing an Army officer in what he has said.

“He has deliberately chosen an Army officer to enact his psychosis, I don’t believe him when he tells me it could have been anyone.”

Experts agree on a diagnosis of schizophrenia for Esan at the time of the attack.

Prof Blackwood said he remains psychotic and will have to be treated for the rest of his life, which he argues “should be within secure psychiatric settings”.

The sentencing over three days continues.