Police officers used non-lethal force to subdue a man wearing armor and a cape while waving a samurai sword in a Plano neighborhood Thursday morning.
Police received several 911 calls about a man “dressed as a knight,” and possibly wearing body armor, swinging a samurai sword near the corner of Independence Parkway and Vidalia Lane just before 10 a.m.
When officers arrived, they demanded the man drop the sword as they tried to keep him calm, said Plano police spokesman Officer David Tilley.
Tilley said the officers on scene realized it might be a mental health issue, which is why they decided to wait for a non-lethal option to arrive.
Witness Johnny Sanchez, who caught some of the incident on camera, said the man was wearing a red cape, swinging a sword and yelling unintelligibly.
“He just started swinging his sword and they kept telling him, ‘Get back, get back. If you get closer, we’re going to have to shoot you,’” Sanchez said.
An officer with the non-lethal option arrived shortly after and police shot the man with what is called a Sage gun -- a gun that uses four-inch rubber projectiles that can bruise, but not kill, a person.
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After he was hit the sword fell and officers were able to take the man into custody.
“The officers were in danger, but they were able to maintain their distance as they were trained to,” Tilley said. “But as I say, had the individual become agitated and decided to charge one of our officers, this could have turned out a lot worse than what it did.”
Plano police said they are currently evaluating the man, believed to be in his 30s, to determine whether he will face charges or is in need of medical treatment.
The department only has a few Sage guns and they are rarely used, Tilley said.
