Police disarm man with knives

MONTROSE — Safety was on the line Friday morning, when a knife-wielding man allegedly threatened three officers.

Montrose Police Sgt. Dennis Beery, and Officers Tim Cox and Jeff Haifley responded to an early-morning call in the 900 block of South First Street, involving reports that a man with a knife was threatening himself.

They made contact with Windle Johnson, 52, of Montrose.

“Apparently, he was making some threats to himself and began making them to officers on the scene, saying that he would kill any police officer that he saw,” Police Chief Tom Chinn alleged.

He said Johnson advanced on the officers with a knife in each hand, causing the officers to deploy Tasers. The first Taser shot missed, so a second officer fired, hitting Johnson and subduing him.

“There were absolutely no injuries to either the suspect or the officers,” Chinn said, but described the brief standoff as “pretty tense.”

Officers are trained to try to maintain a 21-foot distance between themselves and suspects armed with knives. “That’s considered a safe distance. Anything inside 21 feet, you’re at risk of being injured,” Chinn said.

Johnson was arrested on suspicion of first-degree assault on a peace officer. Formal charges have not been filed.

According to jail records, he was booked on an initial bond of $60,000.