Man arrested after police officer stabbed in Kent
Officer was airlifted to London hospital after attack on Thursday night
A man has been arrested after a police officer was stabbed in Kent.
Kent Police said the officer was in a serious but stable condition after the attack in Maidstone on Thursday evening.
The force was attending an address in Albion Place at around 8pm on Thursday when the assault took place.
The officer was airlifted to a London hospital with injuries consistent with stab wounds, police said.
The 48-year-old man from Maidstone was arrested and remains in custody while police investigate.
Maidstone is a historic town with a population of around 175,000, sitting some 35 miles from London. It is the largest town in Kent, a county home to one of the largest hospital trusts in England.
Images published by KentOnline appeared to show several police vehicles and and ambulance vehicles parked close to a car dealership in Andrew Broughton Way on Thursday evening.
One local resident told the outlet that they witnessed dozens of officers entering a residential building nearby, in addition to an official wearing a hazmat suit who arrived in a forensics van at around 11pm.
The scene is close to an A-road and is less than half a mile away from the high street, lying just east of the town centre.
In a statement on Friday, Kent Police said: “A man has been arrested after an officer was assaulted in Maidstone. Kent Police officers were attending an address in Albion Place at around 8pm on Thursday 15 June 2023 when the assault took place.
“The officer was airlifted to a London hospital with injuries consistent with stab wounds. He remains there in a serious but stable condition. A 48-year old man from Maidstone was arrested and remains in custody while enquiries continue.”