Alexandria Police Department
NEWS RELEASE
December 26, 2001
Police Use Less than Lethal Force to Subdue Man Armed with Large Knife
Today, at 12:06 p.m., police officers responded to the 500 block of North Imboden Street for the report of a suicidal person. The subject, a 47-year-old Alexandria man, was barricaded in his ground-floor apartment and armed with a large kitchen knife. Officers negotiated with the man but he refused to give up his weapon. After about an hour, the man began to climb out of a window, still armed with the knife. Officers demanded that the man drop the knife but he refused.
A specially-trained officer fired less than lethal rounds from a Sage gun, striking the subject three times in the upper body. The force of the rounds incapacitated the man and he fell to the ground less than two feet below the window. The man was transported to Alexandria Hospital for a mental evaluation and for treatment of minor injuries.
Officers recovered the knife and upon further investigation, discovered additional knives lined up on the back of the sofa inside the man’s apartment.
“Without a doubt, deadly force would have been justified in this case,” said patrol commander Captain Blaine Corle. “Thankfully, we safely subdued this man without further risk to our officers or serious injury to him. This is the second time Alexandria officers have used the Sage gun to disarm a violent suspect.”
Police are withholding the subject’s name as no criminal charges have been filed and the man is receiving mental health services.
(end)
Translate