this post was submitted on 06 Aug 2025

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181

Gardener 'given no choice' over trowel arrest caution (www.bbc.com)

submitted 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) by miss_demeanour@lemmy.dbzer0.com to c/nottheonion@lemmy.world

41 comments fedilink hide all child comments

He said the officers were shouting at him to "drop the knife".

"I said I didn't have a knife and they told me to drop the knife again," he said.

"So I dropped my Japanese hand gardening sickle and a handful of privet that I just cut off the hedge.

"They turned me around, pushed me up against my house, handcuffed me, then put me in the back of a van."

Mr Rowe was carrying a Japanese-made trowel in its sheath, a small Japanese gardener's sickle and a peeling knife, along with a trug of vegetables.

He said the peeling knife was his late grandmother's, the sickle had been purchased a decade ago and the trowel, which has a short blade and wooden handle, was a present.

He added that he had not been aware of any warnings about carrying the tools in public.

However, since his arrest, a warning has appeared on the trowel manufacturer's website.

It said customers needed "to familiarise themselves with offensive weapons law before carrying the tool in public".

all 43 comments

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[–] Zombie@feddit.uk 87 points 1 week ago (5 children)

GMP said officers were responding to a call that a man had been seen with a knife.

"He was subsequently stopped and a small sickle, a large dagger which was in a sheath on a belt, and a peeling knife, were seized," the force said.

Good to see the police openly lying... He didn't have a large dagger on him. It was a trowel.

[–] DontTreadOnBigfoot@lemmy.world 45 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (3 children)

I mean, to be fair... Those Japanese trowels do look like a big fuck off knife:

[–] Zombie@feddit.uk 53 points 1 week ago

Yeah, it's fair enough that they were called and showed up.

Their conduct after realising it's not a knife though is what's wrong. They know now, for a fact, that it is not a dagger and yet in their public statement they say it is, and they coerced a caution out of an innocent person.

[–] But_my_mom_says_im_cool@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago

Im a condo super and always have a knife on me, it’s fucked that police could just arrest me at work for having work tools

[+] obinice@lemmy.world -29 points 1 week ago (4 children)

Exactly, that's absolutely a knife. A huge one.

It may also be used as a trowel, but looks at it, that looks like something crocodile dundee would throw at someone.

A guy walking around in public with that strapped to his belt in a tactical looking holster is just asking for trouble. He was probably looking forward to the day the cops got him for it. He can't have been so stupid to have that on and think "this is totally fine, nobody would ever be concerned by this".

[–] Wolf314159@startrek.website 17 points 1 week ago

He wasn't "walking around in public". He was a gardener, walking around with gardening tools, gardening. I have one of those tools. It's fucking amazing at digging small precise holes under difficult conditions, but as a weapon it wouldn't be any more dangerous than any of my other tools. It's absolutely not a knife. It's just a narrow trowel with edges necessary to cut through roots. Most gardening tools have a sharp edge somewhere. Context fucking matters. And the fantasy your spinning about this scenario is just more pathetic nanny state authoritarian nonsense.

[–] Bosht@lemmy.world 5 points 1 week ago

He wasn't in public. Read the god damned article. He was at his own house and even had other gardening shit with him including vegetables.

[–] But_my_mom_says_im_cool@lemmy.world 4 points 1 week ago

So because the trowel doesn’t look like a white mans trowel, it’s a knife?

[–] FuglyDuck@lemmy.world 38 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Trowels can be used like a dagger though.

So clearly they are daggers!

Also, so can pencils. Good luck writing that up in your book now, Sergeant Smedley.

[–] Doubleohdonut@lemmy.ca 11 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Well the Joker clearly stabbed that guy with a wooden dagger about 1cm wide with a novelty eraser on the end

[–] FuglyDuck@lemmy.world 6 points 1 week ago

Did Officer Joker have the required training for that weapon?

[–] rhythmisaprancer@piefed.social 2 points 1 week ago

I had a teacher in high school who had been stabbed with a pencil. They would wear a shirt with a hole in it from what they said was the incident, but they did a lot to keep us on our toes so maybe it was from a trowel.

[–] SARGE@startrek.website 11 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Good to see the police openly lying

..... Have they ever done anything else?

[–] Ilovethebomb@sh.itjust.works 13 points 1 week ago

This is the UK police, they don't quite have the reputation the US ones do.

I'd have expected better from them.

[–] bishoponarope@lemmy.world 6 points 1 week ago

I mean, it's GMP. Second only to the MET in everything you don't want to hear about a police force doing.

[+] obinice@lemmy.world -7 points 1 week ago (3 children)

Did you see that "trowel"?

It looks like a big hunting knife. I garden, I have an allotment and grow all sorts for years, I've never seen a trowel that looks anything like that before.

Sure, maybe it's some specialised sharp knife-like trowel from Asia that nobody here has seen before, but that is exactly why it's reasonable to assume it's a knife, first and foremost.

I also heard the guy was dressed like he was cosplaying being in the army (in camo), but that may not be the case. It would make one further suspicious of him though, if it is true.

A guy walking around with a big sharp "trowel" in (to joe public) a green tactical looking holster thingy, wearing army camo? Yeah, that doesn't sound like a bloke going down the allotment to tend to the cabbages.

Obviously it was a misunderstanding in the end, but at the same time, I can 100% understand why the fuzz would make some safe assumptions to disarm someone of their potentially deadly weapon.

The bloke can't have been stupid either, he was carrying the very weapon like thing visibly in public, and when the bobbies asked him to drop it he acted like he had no clue what they were on about? Come on.

I could understand buying and using a trowel that's weird like that, if that's what you're into, but it's common sense that it looks like a weapon and should obviously be concealed as to not worry joe public. Especially if you're planning to go around wearing army clothes or whatever, but even so.

[–] Zombie@feddit.uk 10 points 1 week ago

https://feddit.uk/comment/19011437

See my response in this thread, it addresses your concerns.

2 comments above mine has pictures.

Trowels like that are becoming increasingly popular, just because you've not seen one before doesn't mean they're not legitimate.

[–] Flax_vert@feddit.uk 10 points 1 week ago

So I dropped my Japanese hand gardening sickle and a handful of privet that I just cut off the hedge.

Mr Rowe was carrying a Japanese-made trowel in its sheath, a small Japanese gardener's sickle and a peeling knife, along with a trug of vegetables.

Mr Rowe was carrying the trowel in its sheath on his gardening belt

He was very clearly gardening.

The problem here wasn't that the police were called. The problem is that they gave him a caution for not breaking the law when it was a clear misunderstanding.

[–] HonoraryMancunian@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago

Where did you hear about his clothes?

[–] treadful@lemmy.zip 28 points 1 week ago

Why do British headlines never make sense? Is it just cultural context I'm missing, or do they just really like fucking around with words to the point of obfuscation?

[–] CrackedLinuxISO@lemmy.dbzer0.com 24 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (3 children)

I have one of those Japanese gardening trowels. To be fair, it does have:

A pointy end
Beveled, sharp looking edges
Serrations
A knife handle
A knife-like sheath

I really don't blame anyone for thinking it looks like a knife, but I'm not going to defend cops, nosy community watch groups, or UK knife laws here.

The setup leasing to the gardener being arrested is a real shitty situation, but fuck the cops for not giving the guy any proper legal representation.

Edit: Dunno what kind of trowel he was actually carrying, but this is mine https://larnerseeds.com/products/japanese-hori-hori

[–] Flax_vert@feddit.uk 13 points 1 week ago

What he did wasn't against the law. You can carry a knife in public if you have good reason to. The man was carrying a gardening trowel and was caught with a sickle cutting a hedge and holding a basket of vegetables. He was literally caught gardening. It was crystal clear that he had good reason.

[–] scytale@piefed.zip 12 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Those plastic cake slicers that come free when you buy a cake fits that description list as well.

[–] CrackedLinuxISO@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 points 1 week ago

Yes, and I wouldn't be surprised to hear of someone in the UK getting arrested for owning one.

[–] brap@lemmy.world 9 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I’ve got a Hori Hori and it had a sharp edge once - until it got used as a trowel to dig a small hole. Now it’s just a fancy trowel lol.

[–] Atelopus-zeteki@fedia.io 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I use a Hori Hori "garden knife" alla time. Super useful tool. AND jamming a blunt, yet pointy tool into someones soft underbelly would not be pleasant, and could result in injury / death. Don't carry it in a fashion that with a fall would result in this happening to you. Gardening can be dangerous to the ill informed.

[–] Flax_vert@feddit.uk 6 points 1 week ago

[–] vk6flab@lemmy.radio 20 points 1 week ago

In other news .. Police arrest Aristocrat for wielding deadly pinkie whilst drinking tea in public.

[–] syreus@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago

At least it's not an evil trowel.

[+] SculptusPoe@lemmy.world -38 points 1 week ago (9 children)

Draconian laws make me happy to be an American... We are getting bad, but have a ways to go before we catch up with Britain and Europe.

[–] SARGE@startrek.website 23 points 1 week ago

As an American, what the fuck are you talking about?

[–] SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world 19 points 1 week ago

Oh, honey.

[–] bdonvr@thelemmy.club 12 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Go grab yourself a beer and have a stroll through your neighborhood to celebrate your freedom from draconian laws :)

[–] shalafi@lemmy.world -3 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Going to do that when my wife gets home from the store! I have no idea if it's legal for me to do so because there's zero chance I get fucked with.

EDIT: Drank two beers, walked most of the hood!

[–] Stamau123@lemmy.world 12 points 1 week ago

...Bruh

[–] possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip 7 points 1 week ago

I think we are screwed in different ways

[–] wieson@feddit.org 6 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Which law of "Europe" is draconian?

[–] SculptusPoe@lemmy.world 1 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

Europe includes lots of countries, so there is no one "law" just various ones sprinkled throughout. In Britain people are arrested "for sending messages that cause “annoyance”, “inconvenience” or “anxiety” to others via the internet, telephone or mail." using section 127 of the Communications Act 2003 and Section 1 of the Malicious Communications Act 1988. That has a pretty chilling effect on speech. Convictions are more rare than arrests, but the constant threat of arrest is almost as bad as a conviction...

[–] Flax_vert@feddit.uk 5 points 1 week ago

[–] shalafi@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago

I can see people being freaked out by our gun laws, but at least I can operate gardening tools in my own fucking yard.

[–] phutatorius@lemmy.zip 2 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

I'm an American living in England. UK laws can be draconian as written, but it's only in rare cases that they're actually applied that way. The police have more discretion, likewise judges, and generally they can't be arsed to apply the full force of the law. So on paper, the UK might seem a totalitarian hellhole, but in practice, the US is immeasurably worse. And that's even when you consider absurdities like this incident, where the cops clearly overreached. Unlike the US, they also don't send people to prison for decades for shoplifting food.

Here's a stat to help you: killings of UK people by the police: under 10 cases annually. In 2024, leaving out car accidents, there were 3. Most of those were armed robbers or terrorists in the midst of murdering people or directly threatening to do so.

In the US, the equivalent number is estimated to be around 1300. The feds don't force states to report these statistics, so the best numbers we have come from journalists and non-profits, and are likely underestimates. Even after correcting for the difference in population sizes, it's obvious that the US has a major problem, and that's even before all the abuses and impunity introduced by Trump.

And one last set of figures to consider: in the county where I live, the homicide rate last year was 0.75 per 100,000. In the county I moved from in the US, the equivalent number is 8.6.