Sword-wielding man subdued by Vancouver police
CBC News
Posted: May 30, 2011 2:39 PM PT
Last Updated: May 30, 2011 7:45 PM PT
Police used rubber bullets and a Taser to try to take down a sword-wielding man in downtown Vancouver near the busy intersection of Burrard Street and Georgia Street on Monday.
The man was hit by several of the bullets fired by Vancouver police officers as they tried to subdue him after he had been waving the sword on a downtown street and while on the city's public transit system, said police spokesman Const. Lindsey Houghton.
The rubber bullets — fired from an Arwen gun usually deployed in riot control — and a shot from a Taser stun-gun failed to take the man down, and he was then tackled to the ground by several officers, Houghton said.
The man was taken into custody and appeared to have suffered no serious injuries.
Houghton said SkyTrain passengers reported the man to police at about 1:30 p.m. PT when he started repeatedly unsheathing the sword while on a train at the Metrotown station.
Police confronted the man outside the Burrard SkyTrain station at about 2 p.m. PT.
The man is facing possible weapons-related charges and officers will be requesting the courts consider a psychological examination, Houghton said.
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