A Florida man accused of forcing his way into a stranger’s home with a sword was still holding the weapon when sheriff’s deputies arrived early Tuesday morning.
Deputies first tried talking him into putting it down. When that failed, they escalated to a less-lethal launcher and fired a foam round.
That did not end the confrontation either.
The encounter finally ended when deputies deployed a Taser and took 26-year-old Josiah Smith into custody, according to the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office, which released bodycam footage of the arrest.
Sword In Hand
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Deputies were called to a residence in the 3400 block of Northwest 91st Street in Alachua County during the early morning hours of Sept. 22.
The caller reported that a man armed with a sword had forced his way inside and made the occupants leave the home against their will.
Deputies arrived to find Smith still wielding the sword.
Deputy N. Johns attempted to build a rapport with him, calmly asking Smith his name and telling him to put the weapon down. The sheriff’s office said Smith instead refused commands to drop the sword or get on the ground.
Deputies then turned to a less-lethal launcher.
A foam round was fired in an effort to make Smith release the sword, but the attempt was unsuccessful.
One More Step
With Smith still armed, deputies deployed a Taser and detained him.
The sheriff’s office later said its investigation found that Smith and the victim did not know each other before the encounter.
Smith was arrested on charges of armed burglary of an occupied dwelling, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, armed kidnapping and resisting without violence.