Police arrest man armed with swords
A brief standoff Monday night with a Davenport man armed with two large swords ended not with the flash of steel, nor a hail of bullets, but the sizzle of electricity.
Christopher John Morien, 30, of 1815 W. 40th St., Davenport, is charged with assault while displaying a weapon, child endangerment/no injury, and simple domestic assault. He was in the Scott County Jail Tuesday afternoon, held on $11,825 bond.
He was arrested after holding officers at bay for about 30 minutes.
Davenport officers responded to Walgreens at 1720 W. Kimberly Road at 10:58 p.m. for a reported domestic incident and were directed to a nearby apartment building by Morien’s live-in girlfriend. She warned officers he had swords and daggers in the apartment, according to police reports.
The 27-year-old woman opened the door for officers and found Morien behind the door, according to police reports. The swordsman took a combative stance. The officer drew his gun and aimed it at the man’s head. As the man moved toward him, the officer was prepared to fire but was blocked by the man’s girlfriend, who was between them.
Morien backed away and locked himself in a bedroom. When officers made phone contact with him, he told them they would have to shoot him, refusing to leave, according to police reports.
Still armed with the swords, Morien spoke to officers who convinced him to set down the swords, then Tazered him to arrest him.
Police say he became angry when his girlfriend tried to take their 1-year-old daughter out of the apartment, hitting, kneeing and pushing her while she held the girl.
— Kurt Allemeier