Gloucester Township Police Subdue Man Wielding Large Spear: PD

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ — Gloucester Township police used a Taser to subdue a man who threatened to throw a large metal spear at them over the weekend.

Police responded to the area of Sicklerville Road near Garwood Road for a report of a man swinging a metal pole at passing cars at about 6:04 a.m. Saturday, police said Tuesday morning.

He was screaming at passing cars while swinging a large metal spear in his right hand, according to the Gloucester Township Police Department. He had a large can of pepper spray used to repel bears in the other hand, police said.

He was continuously yelling in a threatening manner, and police said he was clearly disturbed as they began to speak with him. The officers used their cars to block him from traffic, and were able to guide him into the Villari’s Restaurant parking lot, police said.

They spoke with him, trying to get him to put the spear down to no avail, police said. He continued to ramble, curse at, and threaten the officers by raising the spear above his shoulder as if he was going to throw it at them.

He continued to become more enraged, and appeared as though he would throw the spear at them at one point, police said.

At this point, one of the officers used his Conductive Energy Device (CED or Taser) to temporarily incapacitate the man, so they could bring him into custody, police said.

The man walked to an awaiting ambulance, where he was taken to a local hospital, police said. Officers recovered a large metal spear with a sharpened knife blade attached on the end and a large canister of High Concertation Pepper Spray Bear Repellant.

“I am proud of the officers involved in this incident,” Gloucester Township Police Chief David Harkins said. “They remained calm and used the techniques and tactics that we train on. They worked as a team, while being threatened by an unstable person who was threatening them with a clearly deadly weapon. This incident could have ended in tragedy for the suspect or the officers. The officers demonstrated a tremendous amount of restraint.”

The 54-year-old Sicklerville man was charged with third-degree unlawful possession of a weapon, fourth-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, and unlawful possession of a chemical substance.

He was charged on a criminal summons pending a future court appearance, and was taken to the hospital for medical and crisis evaluation and treatment.