Man attacks ex-wife with a crowbar, rams his own car and stabs himself, authorities say

When a Taser gun and pepper spray failed to bring down a 300-pound man on Thursday morning in Parkland, a Pierce County Sheriff’s deputy kicked the legs out from under the 60-year-old suspected of domestic violence, authorities say.

The man was transported to a hospital with what police believe were self-inflicted wounds. He reportedly had a cut on his wrist and a stab wound to his chest. Medics called the chest wound life threatening, according to a Sheriff’s department statement posted Saturday on Facebook.

The man is suspected of entering his ex-wife’s home while she was in bed and swinging a crowbar at her like a baseball bat while the woman pleaded for him to stop, according to the statement. The man reportedly choked the victim before she was able to escape to the neighbor’s house. She suffered multiple scratches, cuts and gouge wounds and told police she knew the suspect “was trying to kill her and (she) was deeply in fear for her life.”

The neighbor called 911 at about 9:30 a.m. The Sheriff’s department statement gives this account of what happened next:

The deputy arrived to see the man ramming his unoccupied truck with his ex-wife’s Ford Thunderbird. The man started walking away, but the deputy ran after him and ordered him to stop.

The suspect, covered in blood, turned and yelled, “(expletive) kill me.” When the deputy told him to get on the ground, the man balled up his fists and moved toward the deputy.

The deputy pointed his Taser gun at the suspect and ordered him to the ground. When the 6-foot-2 suspect didn’t stop, the deputy fired his Taser but it didn’t phase the suspect. Either did pepper spray, so the deputy kicked him in the legs and knocked him to the ground.

A second deputy arrived and helped arrest the man. The deputies cuffed the suspect then started administering first aid when they noticed a deep wound on his wrist. Medics noticed the chest wound when they arrived.

Police say when the man is released from the hospital he will be arrested for 2nd degree domestic violence assault, a court order violation, 2nd degree malicious mischief, 3rd degree assault and resisting arrest.

This story was originally published March 10, 2018 at 1:56 PM with the headline "Man attacks ex-wife with a crowbar, rams his own car and stabs himself, authorities say."