Man standing in Hwy. 20/27th St. intersection, threatening to stab drivers arrested at gunpoint; no knife found
It took 'pepper spray' and a K-9 team on hand to make arrest
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – A Bend man who called Deschutes County 911 Friday afternoon to say he was standing on the middle of the NE 27th Street and Highway 20 intersection and planned to stab passing motorists was arrested at gunpoint after blocking a community service officer’s car and threatening to fight her, police said.
The 31-year-old man was detained with the use of “pepper spray,” and with a K-9 team at the ready, police said. No weapon was found.
Police responded around 1:10 p.m. to the report of a man in the road at the location, threatening passing motorists, Bend Police Communications Manager Sheila Miller said.
As officers headed to the scene, Miller said the man got in front of a community service officer’s car, temporarily preventing her from leaving the area, and threatened to fight her.
After they got on scene, officers directed the man to follow commands so they could detain him. But Miller said he refused to do so, instead walking toward a police car in the middle of the road.
Officers placed the man at gunpoint and deployed oleoresin capsicum (OC) spray. Combined with the presence of Bend Police K-9 Pluto and his handler, allowed officers to arrest the man, Miller said.
No officers were injured during the arrest, nor was the man, who was arrested and taken to St. Charles Bend for observation before being taken to the Deschutes County Jail on charges of second-degree disorderly conduct, coercion, menacing and a probation violation.
NewsChannel 21 policy is not to name arrested individuals until and unless formal charges are filed.
Court records show the suspect pleaded guilty to fourth-degree assault and received a 15-day jail term and two years’ probation. He pleaded guilty to DUII and a half-dozen other charges in a 2021 case and received a 90-day jail term and a life-time driver’s license suspension, as well as probation.
