Man allegedly threatens Caldwell family with knife and vehicle. Police intervene
Law enforcement arrested a man who allegedly threatened his family and a police officer before fleeing in a vehicle on Sunday.
Police responded at about 6:30 p.m. on Bridgeport Avenue in Caldwell to a call reporting a 21-year-old man was “acting in an extremely aggressive manner” toward family members and “possibly having a mental health crisis,” the Caldwell Police Department said in a news release.
Police said they later learned that the man had threatened his father with a knife.
When a Caldwell officer arrived at the scene, he saw the man ramming parked vehicles at the home before driving his vehicle onto the lawn where people were standing, police said.
“Due to the immediate threat of great bodily injury or death, our officer quickly maneuvered his vehicle to place himself in harm’s way by using his patrol car to block (the suspect’s) vehicle from intentionally striking his family members, who were frantically trying to avoid him on foot,” police said.
The man hit the police vehicle and sped away, according to the release. The officer then drove after him.
After a half-mile chase, the man’s vehicle “became inoperable due to damage caused by the collisions,” police said.
The man surrendered and police took him into custody near Marble Front and Mason roads, according to the release.
Canyon County Jail records show the man was booked on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated assault of an officer, resisting an officer, eluding an officer at a speed of more than 30 mph, battery, leaving the scene of an accident, driving under the influence, marijuana possession and drug paraphernalia possession.
“These types of incidents can turn deadly very quickly, and I am so proud of our brave officer(s) who responded and literally placed themselves between a moving vehicle to save lives, before engaging in a high-speed pursuit,” Caldwell Police Chief Rex Ingram said.
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREWhy we aren't naming all suspects
The Idaho Statesman doesn’t always name the suspect in crime stories. Our general practice, implemented in February 2022, is that we only name suspects when we are committed to following a case through the criminal justice system. That ensures that if charges are reduced or dismissed, or the person is acquitted, our reporting will reflect that. We made this decision as part of our Clean Slate project, which creates a pathway for people whose minor crimes were reported by us in the past to have those stories de-indexed so they don’t show up in Google searches. We also can always decide to name the suspect later if appropriate. Learn more about our Clean Slate project here.
Also of note, we generally don’t publish booking mugshots of arrestees. Those have been shown to have lasting effects on the people photographed and marginalized communities. Exceptions must be approved by a senior editor.
