BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – A man armed with a knife led to a police stand off and closed two streets in Burlington’s Old North End.
Police say 38-year-old Justin Barber was experiencing a mental health crisis and cut off his pants with the knife as he made his way up Church Street. They say they began following the man through the downtown area as he made his way North towards North Street and Park Street and attempted to negotiate with him, but Barber ignored them.
They say the incident lasted for about two hours, and they eventually had to use non-lethal means of force to keep everyone safe.
“I was very impressed that they did not hurt him. I was very impressed the way they handled it. They gave him plenty of time to respond and when he did not respond they took it into their own hands,” said Burlington Resident James Vezina.
It ended when officers used a bean bag shotgun to take him into custody. He was then taken to the UVM Medical Center to be treated for his cold temperature exposure, as they believed he was experiencing symptoms of hypothermia as was treated on-scene by the Burlington Fire Department.
This is not the Burlington Police Department’s first encounter with Barber; they say back in March of last year he also charged at officers with a knife.