Cops Wrestled Away Man’s Knife As He Slashed Away at Woman, Police Say

The first thing state troopers heard when they responded to a 911 call at a residence in Sussex County on Friday the 13th was a woman screaming, police say. What they saw when they broke down the door reflected the horror in the victim's voice, according to State Police.

Inside the home was a man later identified as Christopher Davidson, 41, of Newton, State Police said. He was on top of the screaming woman "with a large knife to her throat. She was bleeding from her face and her forearm," according to police.

"When we enter this line of work, we hope that we are there when someone’s life hangs in the balance," State Police wrote in an announcement of the encounter on the NJ State Police Facebook page. "Sometimes it’s a victim choking on food or having a heart attack. Occasionally it’s a crash victim who needs to have the bleeding stopped. Rarely it’s a victim being attacked with a knife when troopers enter the scene."

Officers ordered Davidson to drop the knife, but instead, he "continued to slash the woman," forcing troopers to take action in an attempt to get the suspect away from the victim, police said.

"Without concern for their own safety, troopers knocked him off the victim, wrestled him to the ground, and got the knife away from him," police said.

As troopers handcuffed Davidson, police say, he continued to threaten them and spit at them. According to police, since Davidson was wielding a knife, police would have been justified to shoot, given the life-threatening circumstances.

"But they chose to physically engage with Davidson instead. By choosing this action, they not only saved one life, but actually saved two," State Police said.

Davidson was taken into custody and charged with aggravated assault, weapons offenses, resisting arrest and criminal mischief as a result of damage done in the home before troopers arrived, authorities said. He was evaluated at a local hospital before being transported to Sussex County Jail in lieu of $100,000 full cash bail.