A man armed with a sword tried to urinate on officers, threatened to slice off their heads and also tossed several items at them, including a weed whacker and a fiery pillow, during a barricade situation in the Strawberry Mansion section of Philadelphia, investigators said.
Police were called to a home on the 2400 block of Myrtlewood Street around 8 p.m. Monday for a report of a man high on narcotics and in possession of a sword.
"They found a 42-year-old male sitting on the front steps of a property, he was armed with a sword with about a 2-foot long blade, and he started swinging that sword at police," Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said.
The responding officers used a Taser on the unidentified man but it had little effect as he pulled out the prongs and went back into the home while "still swinging the sword," Small said. A barricade situation was then declared.
Investigators told NBC10 the man threatened to slice the officers’ heads off. He also cut his own neck with the sword at least twice, causing minor injuries, police said. The man repeatedly told police he wanted to go to the hospital but refused to drop his sword, according to investigators.
The man threw several items out of a window at officers, including furniture, weights, speakers, a knife, a door, a large piece of glass, a weed whacker, water and a pillow he had set on fire, Small said.
Police also said the man tried to urinate out of the window onto the officers.
"The male appeared to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol or a combination of both," Small said while calling the whole incident "bizarre."
Police set up a staging area on the 2900 block of York Street and a SWAT team surrounded the home. The man was finally taken into custody around midnight.
The man was taken into custody for mental evaluation, Small said. Police have not yet revealed his identity.
No officers were hurt.
