Vernon RCMP taser man attacking vehicle with lacrosse stick

Vernon RCMP used a taser on a 29-year-old after he ran at them armed with a knife in the early morning hours today.

At roughly 4:30 a.m. today, March 25, police received a call about a man beating a parked vehicle with a lacrosse stick and trying to smash out its window, according to an RCMP media release.

Police arrived on the scene at the 4900 block of Heritage Drive and saw the man behaving erratically and pacing around armed with a knife. Police tried to de-escalate the situation and speak to the man, but he ran at them armed with a knife.

The media release says police then tased the man and took him into custody without further incident.

"This individual was exhibiting behaviour that indicated he was a danger to himself and the public," Vernon North Okanagan RCMP Cpl. Tania Finn said in the release. "As the armed man would not comply with any verbal commands given by our officers, police utilized an intervention option which allowed them to maintain some distance while disarming him."

The 29-year-old man was apprehended under the Mental Health Act and transported to hospital for treatment.

No one was injured during the incident.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Ben Bulmer or call (250) 309-5230 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.