Man threatened bystanders, officers with machete on Nashville pedestrian bridge, police say

Nashville officers tased a machete-wielding man on the pedestrian bridge Thursday night after people claimed he threatened them with the weapon.

According to an arrest affidavit, a 911 call was made from the John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge for a man threatening people with a machete.

Officers with the Metro Nashville Police Department responded and found 35-year-old Allen Stidmon riding toward them on a bicycle, the affidavit states. After the officers demanded that he stop, Stidmon stopped, jumped off, and began screaming at the officer while pulling out his machete, according to the affidavit.

The officers then pulled out both “lethal and non-lethal” weapons, which made Stidmon drop his machete, according to the report, but a hatchet was visible on his right hip, so one of the officers deployed a taser, which allowed for his immediate arrest.

Surveillance footage from the bridge showed Stidmon walking his bicycle when he began talking to a nearby couple. The affidavit states that Stidmon then “proceeded to whip out his machete” and pointed it at them. He also pointed the blade at another person before officers arrived at the scene, according to the report.

Read more: WSMV