By MES Dispatch staff
The Briefing
• A Michigan police chief used a snow shovel to defend himself and fellow officers from an ax-wielding man during a residential call, police said.
• The incident occurred in the city of South Gate early Monday after officers responded to reports of a disturbance.
• Body-worn camera video shows the man striking at officers with the ax before the chief intervened with a shovel.
• No officers were seriously injured; the suspect was taken into custody and faces multiple charges related to assault and weapon possession.
SOUTH GATE, MI — A police chief in South Gate, Michigan, defended himself and fellow officers using a snow shovel after a man armed with an ax attacked during a call for service early Monday, authorities said.
Officers responded to a residential disturbance just after midnight, where the suspect, later identified as 49-year-old local resident Donald Smith, confronted them with an ax, according to a department statement.
Body-worn camera footage released by police shows Smith striking at officers with the ax, prompting South Gate Police Chief James Anderson to pick up a snow shovel from the ground and intervene to protect his team.
No officers were seriously injured in the encounter, though two sustained minor injuries and received on-scene care. The suspect was taken into custody without further incident.
Smith faces multiple charges, including assault with a dangerous weapon, resist and obstructing, and disorderly conduct, the department said. The incident remains under review by the county prosecutor’s office.