INDIAN RIVER COUNTY, FL – A deputy responding to a commercial burglary alarm confronted a suspect wielding a machete and tasered him.
According to the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office, a deputy who encountered an aggressive, machete-wielding suspect relied on his training and quick action to deploy a Taser to subdue the man in the early morning hours of Monday.
“Corporal Dilks was responding to a business burglary alarm in the 1300 block of US 1 when Dwayne Gordon emerged from behind the closed businesses,” the department said. “When approached, Gordon became confrontational and pulled a machete with a 12-inch blade from his waistband and actively threatened the corporal.”
Corporal Dilks deployed his Taser and took Gordon into custody after a brief struggle on the ground.
Gordon, who has active warrants out of Georgia, was arrested for Loitering & Prowling, Resisting and Officer, and Aggravated Assault on a Law Enforcement Officer.
This incident demonstrates the ever-present danger that law enforcement faces every day. The act of threatening an officer with a deadly weapon is a decision that could end in tragedy for those involved and the surrounding public.
This could have been a deadly encounter but Corporal Dilks’ training and quick action in this situation resulted in a safe resolution for all.