Victoria police subdue axe-wielding man

An axe-wielding man who confronted Victoria police officers was arrested on Saturday and held for a psychiatric assessment.

Police were called to the 3000-block of Scott Street just before 9:30 a.m. after a resident spotted a man walking down the street carrying an axe. When the resident asked the man why he had an axe, the man indicated he planned to head to a nearby shopping mall and seek a confrontation with police, according to Victoria police spokesman Bowen Osoko.

Police arrived on scene and the man, still carrying the weapon, became confrontational.

Officers blocked off surrounding streets and an officer tried to negotiate with the man using crisis intervention and de-escalation techniques.

The man refused to drop the axe and claimed he was armed with other weapons.

Officers shot the man with rubber bullets and a bean-bag gun, which caused him to drop the axe and surrender.

He was arrested and taken to hospital. He did not have major injuries from the bean-bag guns, so he was released from hospital and taken to police cells.

“This is type of incident that, unfortunately, our officers frequently face in the course of their duties,” said Victoria police 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.

Police learned that he was the subject of several calls the day before the axe incident, including reports that he was shining a flashlight in people’s eyes.

That led officers to be concerned for his mental health, so police requested that he be returned to hospital on a 30-day psychiatric hold.