Cape Girardeau Police responded to an unusual weapon call early September 19 after several people reported seeing a man armed with a hatchet running at vehicles. Finding 49-year-old Charles McDonald IV was apparently the easy part, because police say six Taser deployments made contact with him before another finally brought the encounter to an end.
Officers were called to the intersection of Independence and Caruthers at approximately 5:15 a.m. after communications received several reports about the armed man. When police arrived, they found McDonald crouching in a bush behind a shopping cart.
An officer ordered McDonald to show his hands, but police say he instead stood up and retrieved a hatchet from the shopping cart. Officers repeatedly ordered him to drop the weapon, but McDonald refused.
Things escalated further when another officer arrived, and McDonald began approaching that officer while still armed with the hatchet, according to police. Other officers then attempted to subdue him with Tasers, beginning an unusually stubborn effort to get McDonald into custody.
Police Say Tasers Fail To Stop McDonald
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Cape Girardeau Police say six Tasers made good contact with McDonald during the confrontation, but did not have the desired effect. Despite those deployments, McDonald began running from officers and crossed the street.
Another officer then deployed a Taser as McDonald fled, and this time, police say it had the desired effect. Officers were finally able to take McDonald into custody and transport him to the Cape Girardeau Police Department for booking.
The department’s account does not say McDonald struck an officer or any of the vehicles he was accused of running toward before police arrived. It also does not identify any injuries resulting from the encounter.
McDonald Held on Cash-Only Bond
The Cape Girardeau County Prosecutor’s Office formally charged McDonald with Class E felony unlawful use of a weapon and Class E felony resisting arrest. Police also discovered that McDonald had an active parole violation warrant and took him into custody on that warrant as well.
Cape Girardeau County jail records show McDonald was booked at approximately 2:35 a.m. on September 20 with a $50,000 bond. The jail roster lists resisting or interfering with an arrest for a felony, unlawful use of a weapon involving exhibiting the weapon, and a parole violation.
The jail cautions that charges and bail amounts can change following court appearances and may not reflect the latest status of a case. McDonald’s charges remain accusations, and he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
Another Missouri Arrest Needed a Taser
This isn’t the first unusual Missouri arrest we’ve covered where officers encountered an armed suspect who wasn’t particularly interested in surrendering. In July, Guessing Headlights covered a Clay County traffic stop that escalated into a pursuit and standoff involving a suspect armed with multiple box cutters.
Authorities said the suspect swung a bag of mini donuts at a deputy before thrusting an extended box cutter toward him during the confrontation. Officers continued negotiating before a Platte County deputy eventually deployed a Taser, allowing authorities to take the suspect into custody.
McDonald’s case involved a hatchet rather than box cutters, and Cape Girardeau Police described a much different sequence leading to his arrest. Both encounters, however, turned an armed refusal to surrender into a Taser-assisted trip into police custody.