A man who allegedly wielded a machete-like weapon in the middle of a White Settlement road on Friday was taken into custody by police.
Multiple people called 911 on August 12 to report that a man was walking down the middle of the road in the 8400 block of White Settlement Road holding a machete. They said he was waving the knife.
Officers were dispatched to the scene at about 6 a.m. When they got there, the man began yelling at officers to shoot and kill him, according to authorities.
Police closed off the roadway after diverting traffic.
The White Settlement Police Department explained that officers tried issuing commands with their PA system, but the man ignored them and continued walking down the street.
Officers applied crisis intervention techniques using tasers and beanbag rounds when the man allegedly ignored all police efforts to talk him into dropping the weapon.
Police clarified that the man dropped his weapon before being taken into custody without further incident.
Bodycam footage released by the White Settlement PD shows a man walking around the road with a weapon, police cars in tow. The man’s face in the video was blurred as police have not released his identity.
White Settlement Police Chief Christopher Cook expressed pride in the police team, who “put together a robust plan and slowed things down to properly assess this incident.”
Cook added that the White Settlement police’s handling of the case should be a “great example of those types of challenges that require quick action and good decisions made in the field.”
“This incident could have had a very tragic outcome,” the department said. “We are thankful that the community was not harmed, and no officers were injured. We are also thankful we could get this young man assistance,” the department said.
