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Mostly Cloudy Man 'threatened' L.B. police officer with samurai sword
Cop wrests weapon away from suspect during struggle
A Long Beach police officer scuffled with a man who came at him with a samurai sword last Sunday in a “threatening manner,” after police responded to a call for a disturbance at an apartment complex at 661 W. Broadway.
Police arrested Gregory Scott, 29, of Long Beach, on Sept. 2 and charged him with menacing a police officer, resisting arrest and criminal possession of a weapon with the intent to use, all misdemeanors.
Police Department spokesman Sgt. Eric Cregeen said the incident occurred shortly before 11 p.m. when officers responded to reports of a disturbance at the complex.
“When the police officer arrived, everyone scattered and there was no one left in the area, but the defendant exited one of the apartments and began walking toward officer [Lee] Nielsen, holding a black handled sword,” Cregeen said, adding that the sword was encased in a plastic sheath. “He walked toward the officer in a threatening manner, holding the sword in two hands.”
Cregeen said that Scott ignored Nielsen’s repeated commands to drop the sword as he continued to approach him. Instead of discharging his weapon, Nielsen attempted to wrest the sword away from Scott. A struggle ensued, and Nielsen was able to disarm Scott, who resisted arrest.
“[Nielsen] grabbed the sword by the sheath and was able to throw it away from the defendant,” Cregeen said. “[Nielsen] showed great restraint. He would have been justified [to use his weapon] and it’s a testament to his professionalism that he was able to arrest this guy without any tragic incident.”
Cregeen said it was unclear what Scott’s motives were and what caused the disturbance that preceded the confrontation.
“I don’t know what his mental state was,” Cregeen said, adding that it had yet to be determined if Scott had prior arrests.
No injuries were reported, and Scott was arraigned at Long Beach City Court.
Nielsen also serves as the department’s drug recognition expert (DRE), the first ever in Long Beach. A DRE is skilled in detecting and identifying persons under the influence of drugs and in identifying the category or categories of drugs causing the impairment. Currently, there are only three other DREs in Nassau County and approximately 150 in New York State. Nielsen has completed a number of evaluations in Long Beach on suspects who were arrested for Driving While Under the Influence of Drugs.
