A 33-year-old man is facing a handful of charges after wielding a knife and chasing a woman Thursday on Alii Drive in Kailua-Kona.
At 11:06 a.m. Thursday, Kona Patrol officers were dispatched to the seawall fronting a business in the 75-5600 block of Alii Drive for a report of an affray involving two men. A security officer reported that one of the men was swinging around a knife and was trying to stab the other man.
Police said that as the first officer arrived on scene, bystanders were pointing at one of the men, stating, “He has a knife!”
The officer observed the man, later identified as 33-year-old Westen Tegman, holding what appeared to be a knife above his head while chasing a woman across Alii Drive. The woman was in distress and ran toward the rear passenger side of the officer’s vehicle, screaming and shouting.
Police said Tegman was still wielding the knife-type weapon as he chased after the woman. Tegman then attempted to flee north on Alii Drive, where verbal commands were given by officers for Tegman to drop the knife.
“The suspect disregarded these commands and he was subsequently arrested after an officer utilized his Conducted Energy Weapon,” police said in a media release.
After further investigation, Tegman was arrested and charged with two counts each first-degree and second-degree reckless endangering and one count each disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, revocation-modification of probation conditions, and revocation of conditions of release on bail.
His bail is set at $74,000.