Austintown police taser man after machete standoff

Officers fired a taser at the man twice to control him.
By KATIE LIBECCO
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
AUSTINTOWN -- A man faces two counts of felonious assault on a police officer after being accused of threatening two township police officers with a machete at his home Monday night.
Officers responded to a call from the mother of Eric B. Haynes, 27, of 4637 Pinegrove Ave., at 11 p.m. Monday. According to reports, she was concerned because he appeared to be intoxicated and attempted to leave in his truck. When she wouldn't let him, he began acting erratically with the knife.
When police arrived, Haynes was in the basement of the house. Moments later, he came out of the attached garage with the machete in his hand, and his mother identified him as Eric Haynes. He was walking toward police.
The police report indicated that he appeared to be under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, which his mother confirmed.
Ending the stalemate
Haynes ignored verbal commands from officers, who told him to put the knife down. He responded once by saying, "Back up or die," police said.
One of the officers went to his cruiser to get a taser while the other attempted to coax Haynes to drop the knife. He refused.
According to the report, when he again raised the knife at the officers, they fired the taser at his chest. Haynes fell, still holding the knife, and said, "I'm going to get you."
Haynes attempted to get back up, but officers fired the taser again. He let go of the knife and officers were able to handcuff him.
An ambulance was called to the scene, and Haynes was taken to a hospital.
He was in the Mahoning County Jail on Tuesday night.