A 55-year-old Otago man is in police custody after he allegedly threatened police with a tomahawk and an axe.
Sergeant Martin Bull of Balclutha police said the man was stopped on Union Street in Milton about 1pm as an officer suspecting him of driving while disqualified.
The man fled and ran to his home nearby.
When he came out from the house he threatened the officer with a tomahawk.
The officer used pepper spray on the man who returned inside after the spray failed to have the expected effect.
The sole officer was then joined by armed officers from Lawrence. Milton and Balclutha, and the man came out again, this time threatening police with a log-splitting axe, before returning inside again.
When the man came out for the final time, he was unarmed. Police arrested him after a struggle.
Bull said the man would appear in Dunedin District Court charged with driving while disqualified, refusing a blood sample, resisting police and two charges of possessing an offensive weapon.
He said further more serious charges could also be laid.
NZPA
