Chainsaw-wielding man flees police after toppling city signs, California cops say

When police confronted a man accused of cutting down city signs Saturday in Petaluma, California, he dropped a chainsaw into a cart and walked away, officers say.

Officers followed him to try to de-escalate the situation, but Kristopher Paul Weber, 39, refused to stop, a Petaluma Police Department news release said.

He eventually picked up the chainsaw from the cart he had been dragging behind him and tried to enter U.S. Highway 101, police wrote.

Officers surrounded Weber as he ran along the shoulder and he surrendered peacefully, police reported.

Police, who described Weber as a homeless Petaluma resident, did not say what kind of signs he cut down or why.

He was arrested on suspicion of vandalism and obstructing police, the release said. They asked anyone who witnessed the 10:30 a.m. incident to call 707-778-4372.

This story was originally published May 24, 2021 at 12:50 PM with the headline "Chainsaw-wielding man flees police after toppling city signs, California cops say."