UK man imprisoned for 4 months after walking up to cops wielding 6-inch Master Sword

3 days ago 21

A small Master Sword replica compared against a ruler, measuring 6 inches.

(Image credit: Warwickshire Police)

In one of the more bewildering sentences I've ever written for this website, a man in Warwickshire, UK has been jailed after approaching police officers while wielding a Master Sword.

Anthony Bray, of Nuneaton, has been sent down for four months for "possession of a bladed article in public," per a statement from Warwickshire police (via Wario64). Per the cops, Bray "approached officers with the item in his hand visible," in Nuneaton town centre, "at which point he was arrested as he was carrying a bladed article."

That "bladed article" was, in fact, the sword that seals the darkness: Link's Master Sword from the Legend of Zelda series. A sheathed six-inch blade that could be drawn at the press of a button, Bray's claim that the gadget was just a fidget toy didn't hold much water with the badges, who "tried to explain to Bray that, despite its intended purpose, it was in fact a sharply pointed item which could be used as a weapon and might put others in fear of it being used against them."

Bray was charged on June 28 at Leamington Spa Magistrates Court, where he was sentenced to four months in prison and a victims' surcharge of £154 (around $200).

The West Midlands, of which Nuneaton is part, has the highest knife crime rate in England and Wales, which might explain why police weren't willing to make an exception for Bray's Master Sword. Even so, the police statement seems to admonish Bray for making his possession of the item so obvious rather than having the blade at all.

"We take a zero tolerance to bladed articles in public, and Bray has fallen afoul of this," said Sergeant Spellman of the police's Patrol Investigations Unit, "It is possible to find fidget toys that aren’t six-inch blades. It is possible not to walk down the street holding them out in front of you. With a bit more self-awareness, Bray could have avoided contact with us completely."

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One of Josh's first memories is of playing Quake 2 on the family computer when he was much too young to be doing that, and he's been irreparably game-brained ever since. His writing has been featured in Vice, Fanbyte, and the Financial Times. He'll play pretty much anything, and has written far too much on everything from visual novels to Assassin's Creed. His most profound loves are for CRPGs, immersive sims, and any game whose ambition outstrips its budget. He thinks you're all far too mean about Deus Ex: Invisible War.