Spray defuses standoff Officers' 'restraint' in incident praised
BY JAMES F. LOWE STAFF WRITER
News and information for Friday, May 09, 2008
NORTHAMPTON - Two city police officers are being praised after a potentially deadly standoff ended Wednesday without serious injuries.
Jeffrey Von Dauber and Stephen Digiammo rushed to the area of Straw Avenue in Florence about 2:17 p.m. after a 911 caller reported a suspicious man with a knife sitting on a bench near the bicycle path.
That man, according to police, was James E. Freund, 54, whose address is listed in court records the streets of Northampton. He had a folding knife in his pocket when the officers arrived on the scene, police said, and allegedly ignored commands to show his hands.
Though one officer pointed his sidearm at Freund and another readied his baton, the standoff was brought to an end with a quick blast of pepper spray.