LACEY, Wash. (AP) — Thurston County sheriff’s officers say a SWAT team has arrested a man accused of brandishing a samurai sword in a dispute at a deli, then retreating to his Lacey home and refusing to come out.
Chief Criminal Deputy James Chamberlain said 59-year-old Michael Burr was arrested Friday afternoon for investigation of two counts of felony assault in the 4 a.m. dispute with a clerk at Buddie’s Deli. No one was injured.
Sheriff’s Lt. Chris Mealy says the man is a U.S. Postal Service worker recently suspended from his job.
SWAT officers saturated the man’s home with tear gas. At one point the man tossed one of the canisters back out, enveloping the street in a haze. He also tossed a samurai sword and a photo album from the second floor.
