Windsor police say man arrested after wielding knife, blocking traffic

Windsor police say a 34-year-old man was arrested after allegedly wielding a knife during an encounter with officers on Wednesday night.

Police were called to Riverside Drive and Ouellette Avenue at 9:45 p.m. after complaints that a disorderly man was on the road.

The man advanced toward a police vehicle when it arrived on scene, police said in a media release Thursday. No one with the Windsor Police Service was available to answer questions about the incident.

As one officer got out of the vehicle, the man moved toward the other side of the vehicle and was "aggressively banging on the window while still in possession of the knife," according to police.

Officers were able to get the man to drop the knife and arrested him.

Neither officer was physically injured. Police did not say if the man was injured.

The man was charged with assaulting a police officer with a weapon.

Acting Windsor police Chief Jason Bellaire said in a statement that this was an example of a call involving a person experiencing a mental health crisis. He said he was proud of how the officers handled the situation.

"These situations can be volatile and potentially violent. Fortunately, in this case, our officers were able to use their training to quickly and effectively de-escalate a situation that could had a far worse ending," said Bellaire.

In August, a 70-year-old man was shot and killed by police after "wielding a machete and threatening people."

The Special Investigations Unit continues to investigate the circumstances around the shooting.