A tense situation involving a knife-wielding woman in Polson Park ended peacefully Thursday evening.
Vernon RCMP responded to a request for assistance from a City of Vernon bylaws officer in the park. The bylaws officer said he was dealing with a middle-aged woman who had slashed the tires and stabbed his patrol vehicle with a knife, and was now threatening him with it.
“Our officers located them in the northwest corner of Polson Park where the lone unidentified female still had the knife in her hand and was swinging it around in a threatening manner,” said Vernon RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk. “The woman was very agitated and refused to talk with anyone who tried to assist her.”
Molendyk said police officers directed the woman numerous times to drop her knife and talk to them, but she refused. She continued threatening police by waving the knife at them and demanding that they shoot her.
Molendyk said the woman continued walking towards them, and at one point she attempted to slash the tires of a police vehicle.
“Eventually our officers were able to convince her to throw her knife on the ground,” said Molendyk. “As soon as she was unarmed they were able to apprehend her quickly before she could recover it.”
The standoff with police lasted approximately 10 minutes, and nobody was injured.
There were numerous people in the park at the time of the incident, however Molendyk said the public was never in danger as all of her attention was focused on the officers in the park.
The woman was taken to Vernon Jubilee Hospital for assessment by medical staff. As of Friday, police have not been able to identify her.
She is facing possible charges of assault with a weapon, uttering threats, and mischief.
