By Pepper Fisher
PORT ANGELES – Cool heads prevailed in a tense situation in the wee hours of Thursday morning when Port Angeles police officers were forced to draw their sidearms on a man who approached them with a large hunting knife in one hand and what’s described as a tomahawk-style weapon in the other.
It was about 1:20am when Officers Brown and Buchanan responded to a report of a domestic disturbance at a trailer park in the 1200 block of West Highway 101.
The officers stood outside talking to a woman in the trailer when the suspect approached the officers in an aggressive fighting stance with both weapons raised.
They ordered him to stop, but when he said “No” and continued his advance, the officers drew their sidearms, ready to use them if they had to. One last command convinced the suspect to stop, but he refused to drop his weapons.
Deputy Chief Jason Viada describes what happened next.
“The officers did not fire their sidearms. During a tense standoff, the man dropped the tomahawk, but would not drop the knife. One officer actuated his taser, however, the taser was ineffective because one of the darts bounced off the knife sheath on the (suspect’s) chest rig. The man turned to flee but was stopped with an effective hit from the second officer’s taser. An Elwha Police officer arrived and assisted with placing the still struggling and resisting man into hand cuffs.”
44-year-old Anthony Johnson of Port Angeles was booked and jailed.
The Prosecutor’s Office, after reviewing the case, charged Johnson with two counts of Assault with a Deadly Weapon and two counts of Assault of a Police Officer, all with Deadly Weapon Enhancements.