A county police officer shot a knife-wielding Laurel man with a bean bag round shotgun Tuesday ? the first time an officer has used the less-lethal weapon since the department received them this spring.
“Discharging the weapon was appropriate and was successful,” said Lt. David Waltemeyer, spokesman for the Anne Arundel County police.
Police responded to a report Tuesday afternoon that Timothy Lee Carnathan, 44, of the 200 block of Brock Bridge Road, was standing outside his home and throwing items at cars passing by. Carnathan smashed the windshield of one car with a metal pole, said Officer Sara Schriver, a police spokeswoman.
The man in the car got out to confront Carnathan, who ran back into his house to grab a shovel, Schriver said. Carnathan then chased the man around the car before running back into his house, she said.
When three police officers arrived on the scene about 3 p.m., they knocked on Carnathan?s door, which was unlocked. After calling for him several times, they entered his home and found the bedroom door closed.
The officers swung the door open and saw Carnathan holding a silver steak knife to his chest, attempting to cut himself, Schriver said. She said Carnathan was standing in front of his bed about 6 feet to 8 feet from the officers and threatening to kill himself .
The officers told Carnathan to drop the knife, but he refused, Schriver said. He then charged at the officers, and Officer Chuck Jones fired one bean bag round at his chest, Schriver said. Carnathan was knocked down to his bed, and handcuffed by another officer, Waltemeyer said.
The officers then took Carnathan to Laurel Regional Hospital for a mental and physical evaluation, Waltemeyer said, and released him shortly after.
Carnathan will be charged with multiple counts of assault, police said.
The incident comes about two months after the first of a string of officer-involved shootings, some of them fatal, which created an outcry for less lethal force in the county.
The department has 38 officers armed with bean bag shotguns on the streets and will train two more to carry the bean bag shotguns in the coming weeks, Schriver said.
