A woman brandishing a knife on a Pleasantville street was taken into custody Sunday, after officers were able to disarm her using pepper-spray and a tackle.
Officers were called to Main Street and Pleasant Avenue at 1:51 p.m. Sunday for the report of a woman brandishing a knife at people in the area, Capt. Matt Hartman said.
Multiple officers confronted the woman, who was known to police from previous encounters due to apparent mental issues.
She was armed with a steak knife and standing in the middle of the road.
Body camera footage of the incident shows the woman yelling in the middle of Main Street and Pleasant Avenue, as officers plead with her to drop the knife.
“We’re going to get you some help,” one officer says. “Please drop the knife.”
Then the woman starts walking down Main Street, with officers following.
“You don’t even know my f------ story,” she tells them as she continues walking.
“Tell us your story,” one says.
She then begins running, with officers chasing her continuing to ask her to drop the knife.
The woman stops briefly, with her back to a building.
That’s when one officer, holding a riot shield, is able to give a short spray of OC, commonly known as pepper spray.
Another officer tries to as the woman runs again.
When she stops a second time, the officers spray more.
She then runs down Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, where she finally stops and drops the knife.
An officer then tackles her to the ground.
The officer cuffing her says he will get her two cuffs when it appears difficult to get her arms cuffed behind her comfortably.
“We’re going to get you some help,” an officer says.
She then asks for water, which the officers then call for.
“I want to commend the officers for bringing this to a close without the loss of life, which was clearly a possibility in such a dynamic situation,” Police Chief Sean Riggin told BreakingAC. “While I am not surprised with the professionalism of these officers, I am certainly proud to see the way they handled themselves.”
The woman’s name is not being released. She has not been charged. She was taken to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center's City Campus for evaluation.
