First of all, I’ve been involved in this myself, so I’m not talking out of my ass.

Secondly, by far most cases of “London police officer got stabbed” are the result of a police officer being forced into a confrontation without time to back out and request backup. If someone at <5 m range decides to stab you, and you’re unprepared, you’ll get stabbed regardless what you’re armed with.

My argument regards police responding to an armed person, where they have the time and space to control the confrontation.