Victoria, BC – A 28-year-old Victoria man was taken into custody on Saturday, April 1st after he was stopped wielding an axe.
Officers were called to the 3000-block of Scott Street just before 9:30 a.m. on Saturday morning by an area resident who was concerned by a man walking down the street carrying an axe. When the resident spoke with the man with the axe, the man indicated that he planned to head to a nearby shopping centre and seek a confrontation with police officers.
When officers arrived, they discovered the man wielding the axe, who immediately became confrontational. Within moments, officers blocked off surrounding streets in order to protect those nearby and an officer employed verbal crisis intervention and de-escalation techniques to peacefully resolve the situation.
The man refused to drop the axe, and claimed that he was armed with other weapons. Officers then deployed less-lethal ARWEN and “bean-bag” projectiles, which caused the man to drop the axe and give himself up. He was taken into custody without further incident and transported to hospital where he was medically cleared.
“This is type of incident that, unfortunately, our officers frequently face in the course of their duties,” said VicPD Acting Chief Del Manak. “The crisis intervention and de-escalation training that all of our officers receive was put to good use to resolve this situation.”
The man is facing charges including possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose and breaching conditions. However, the same man has been the subject of a number of calls to police in recent days, leading officers to be concerned for his well-being. Officers are requesting that the man be held for a 30-day psychiatric hold.