Update 9:45 p.m. Police identified the suspect as George Limberhand, 36.
Update 8:30 p.m. The knife-wielding man in downtown Billings will likely face multiple felonies, including assault with a weapon, after allegedly threatening a mail carrier, according to Billings police.
Billings Police Sgt. Bret Becker said police received a call from the mail carrier at 7:19 p.m. saying the man had attempted to hold up the carrier.
Police found the man near the corner of Fourth Avenue North and North 27th Street, just east of the Billings Gazette. He refused to drop the knife, and police tried to subdue him with a Taser, which appeared to get caught in his baggy clothes and fall out, Becker said.
Police shot him with a Taser at least twice and pepper sprayed him, Becker said. One officer also bumped into the man with his vehicle and knocked him down in an effort to disarm him.
The man was booked into Yellowstone County jail, Becker said. He did not identify him but said he was in his 30s.
19-91265 A middle-aged male attempted to rob and assault several persons in the downtown area including a USPS carrier. Arriving ofcs located the male still brandishing a knife. The male was blocked by ofcs and he continued to brandish and threaten with the knife.
— BillingsPD (@BillingsPD) December 17, 2019
19-91265 continued
Negotiations took place for some time with no success. He was then tased, arrested and checked out by medical personnel on scene before being transported to YCDF for several felonies. -SGT Becker
— BillingsPD (@BillingsPD) December 17, 2019
A man holding a knife on a North 27th Street sidewalk was Tased by police multiple times and detained Monday night.
The man was sitting on the sidewalk around 7:30 p.m. with the knife near the corner of Fourth Avenue North on the east side of the Billings Gazette building.
He was surrounded by at least a dozen law enforcement officers, and many had their guns drawn and were demanding he drop the knife. He ignored their commands.
At one point, a police vehicle struck the man at a low speed in what appeared to be an effort to knock him down and disarm him.
Police subdued the man after about 15 minutes, and an AMR ambulance was at the scene to provide him medical attention.
This a developing story.
Reporting by Justin McKinsey/ Q2
