Man armed with axe taken down by WRPS officer
Posted Jun 1, 2016 05:27:16 AM.
Last Updated Jun 1, 2016 08:27:18 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A video of a Waterloo Regional Police officer taking an armed man down outside Fairview Park Mall in Kitchener has gone viral.
Police say they got a call just before 5pm Tuesday about an agitated man armed with an axe.
The officer was able to disarm the man and take the suspect into custody. As you can see in the video, the officer was also assisted by several witnesses.
Police tell 570 News a 28-year-old man is facing charges that include assault with a weapon, weapons dangerous and resisting arrest.
Waterloo Regional Police Chief Bryan Larkin tells 570 News the video demonstrates the unpredictability of policing.
“Prior to the video starting, what is not seen is obviously the officer disarms the individual, uses tactical communication…There’s a resistance, an unwillingness to be handcuffed and the officer does not resort to any other use of force or tools, uses different techniques to try deescalate and ends up grounding the individual.”
Larkin adds it’s a reminder of the challenges police officers face every single day.
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