Police chief praises officer’s actions dealing with axe-wielding man

What began with a collision at the Strasburg Rd. and Block Line Rd. intersection in Kitchener on Wednesday, Feb. 5 soon turned into a dangerous interaction involving police.

The entire interaction was caught on video and the actions of the responding officer is now being applauded by the force’s chief.

A Waterloo Regional Police (WRP) officer was notified by the automated license plate recognition device about an unqualified driver. The driver tried to evade the officer but crashed into another vehicle in the intersection.

When the man refused arrest, the officer used his conductive energy device to subdue the man but he was able to struggle free and grabbed a hatchet from his truck and began approaching the officer.

The officer drew his service weapon but continued to talk to the man who eventually backed off and tried to return to his truck but was taken down by other officers and arrested.

WRP chief Mark Crowell said the officer relied on his training to bring the situation to a peaceful conclusion.

“He was doing everything he could to deescalate. I know that the officer has spoken to us and reinforced that he was really trying to reach the person at personal and emotional level.”

Crowell adds that taking care of people is a key focus of their training.

“The first impulse is, how do we resolve it in the most safe manner for that individual, keeping the officer safe but also the public around them. So, that’s the mindset of the training. It’s of guardianship. It’s not the warrior mentality, it’s guardianship.”

Crowell said the way the officer was able to keep the man relatively calm, made the job that much easier for the back-up officers.

“You can see when the other officers arrive, they were able to successfully resolve without any grave injury to anybody. It speaks to the dangers that our officers face, the unpredictability of our regular everyday encounters. But, also the quality of our people.”

As a result, the 27-year-old Kitchener man was arrested and charged with possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, assaulting a peace officer, assaulting a peace officer with a weapon, disarming police and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle.

Full video from witnesses at the scene can be viewed on the social media platform, Reddit.

WARNING: Video contains swearing and language that some might find offensive.