A Robson woman was arrested on Saturday after Castlegar RCMP responded to reports that she was damaging a house with an axe.
Natasha Healy, 34 years old, was confronted by police after they were called to a Robson address at 11 a.m. on Saturday. RCMP report that upon their arrival they found Healy outside the house, “where it is alleged that the woman, who while armed with an axe, repeatedly made threatening gestures and approaches towards the RCMP officers.”
RCMP attempted to calm Healy down by talking to her, but she “refused to comply with police directions.” Police report that at one point she retreated into an RV, but continued to yell at police. She would periodically leave the RV with the axe still in hand.
Police brought in additional units to contain the area and evacuated a nearby home to ensure the safety of the occupants. Other neighbours were asked to stay inside until further notice.
RCMP tried to talk Healy down for an hour before they decided that she “remained agitated and threatening” and decided to try to disarm her using a “conducted energy weapon,” but their attempt failed. They next fired a beanbag round at Healy, successfully disarming her, at which time officers took her into custody, without “further incident or injuries to the woman or the attending officers.”
Healy was described as “emotionally distraught” in a press release issued by the Castlegar RCMP following the incident.
She appeared in court on Monday afternoon at the Rossland Courthouse, but her defense lawyer, Blair Suffredine, asked that she be assessed at the Daly Pavilion in Trail as he felt she was unfit to stand trial. The judge agreed and Healy’s trial was suspended until Wednesday and moved to Nelson, where it was further suspended until Tuesday, Aug. 2 and moved back to Rossland, so that Healy can be properly assessed.
