Philadelphia police say they arrested a man who barricaded himself in his home and threw several items at them, including a weed wacker, after a four-hour standoff.
Police responded Monday evening to a report of a man high on narcotics and in possession of a sword. Officers arrived to find a 42-year-old man holding a 2-foot-long sword sitting on the front steps of a house. The man started swinging the sword at the officers and ignored orders to drop it, Philadelphia police Chief Inspector Scott Small told WCAU-TV.
The officers used a stun gun on the man, but it had little effect.
Police said the man threatened to slice the officers' heads off. He told police he wanted to go to the hospital but refused to drop the sword, Small said.
The man went inside the home and threw several items out a window at officers, including furniture, weights, speakers, a knife, a door, a large piece of glass, a weed wacker, water and a pillow he had set on fire, Small said.
Police were eventually able to take the man into custody around midnight. The man was taken to a mental health facility for an evaluation, Small said.
The man suffered minor cuts from holding the sword up to his own neck. No officers were hurt in the incident.
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