ALEXANDRIA POLICE DEPARTMENT
Public Information Office
2003 Mill Road
Alexandria, Virginia 22314
(703) 838-4636
NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AUGUST 15, 2000
Police Use Less than Lethal Force to Subdue Subject Armed with Large Knife
Today at 3:04 p.m., police officers responded to the 2800 block of Mosby Street for the report of a disorderly subject armed with a knife. The subject, a 36-year-old Alexandria man, was waving the eight-inch kitchen knife and a bull whip which he refused to drop when officers ordered him to do so.
A specially-trained officer fired less than lethal rounds from a Sage gun, striking the subject twice in the chest. The force of the rounds knocked the man to the ground where he sustained a head injury. Officers retrieved the weapons, clearing the scene for paramedics to safely treat the subject. He was flown by helicopter to Fairfax Hospital where he is in stable condition and being treated for non-life threatening injuries.
“Clearly, lethal force would have been justified in this case,” says spokesperson Lieutenant John Crawford. “However, we safely subdued this subject without risk to our officers or serious injury to him.” This is the first time Alexandria officers have used the Sage gun on an individual.
Criminal charges, including Attempt Felonious Assault, are pending against the subject. Police are withholding his name until he is formally charged.
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