Move over Danny Trejo and Machete, the perfect name for this movie filmed in Kitchener might be Hatchet.
But no need to call actor Andrew Lincoln, who played Rick Grimes in The Walking Dead, because the star of this show is a brave Waterloo Regional Police Service (WRPS) copper who showed incredible restraint when being approached by a hatchet-wielding suspect and didn’t shoot him — despite having every right to do so.
This drama on the streets of Kitchener had the potential to be a real tragedy.
All of this happened Wednesday at the corner of Strasburg and Block Line Rds. after a WRPS officer was alerted to an expired licence and pulled over a man in a red pickup truck. From there, a witness — who provided the video to the Sun — started to film the police officer with his yellow conducted energy weapon (CEW) in hand on top of a large male suspect, trying to restrain and arrest him.
“On February 5, 2025, at approximately 5:20 p.m., an officer was on proactive patrol in the area of Strasburg Road and Block Line Road and was alerted by the automated licence plate recognition (ALPR) technology of a disqualified driver,” said WRPS.
“The driver immediately attempted to evade police and proceeded through the intersection on a red light and was struck by another vehicle.”
Three people in that car received non-life-threatening injuries and were later transported to hospital.
But before that, all hell broke loose.
A Waterloo Regional Police Service officer attempting to arrest a driver holds down a man in Kitchener on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025.”The male driver exited his vehicle and attempted to fight the officer, which resulted in the officer deploying a conducted energy weapon (CEW),” said WRPS. “The CEW was ineffective, and the male returned to his vehicle and retrieved a hatchet and threatened the officer.”
It was a wild scene.
There were punches going both ways. The officer, who was talking to the suspect trying to calm him down, landed some blows and so did the man on the ground. But this guy was strong. He was able to get up and lift the officer on his back up with him.
When the suspect got to his feet, his next actions you couldn’t script. He leaned down to the ground and like The Terminator picked up his sunglasses, put them on and continued with the mayhem.
With his breath visible thanks to the cold air, he then calmly walked over to his truck and retrieved something from the front seat which was revealed to be a machete. The officer, who was so calm and professional throughout this ordeal, dropped the CEW to the ground and quickly replaced it with his service-issued handgun — training on the suspect, who did not at all seem to flinch in response.
In fact, he started to walk slowly towards the officer with the mini axe. The officer did not panic and walked backwards while never taking his aimed gun off the man as passersby and other motorists’ filmed the scene. You can see the officer call for backup in the middle of all this stress as well.
At one point, the suspect turned back and ran towards where he was originally arrested, picking up his jacket from the ground and strolling toward his truck. But while putting on his coat he was struck by a second CEW blast from another officer who had arrived on the scene.
The man fell to the ground, incapacitated by the electricity. Other officers who had arrived then got on top of him and made the arrest.
“This was a very dynamic and scary situation for everyone,” said WRPS Const. Brad Hickey. “We’ve had a lot of positive praise for the officer and WRPS online. We are very proud of the officer involved and there were no physical injuries reported.”
But was this ever close. It could have turned out far worse.
“This could have ended differently,” said one police officer who reviewed it for the Sun. “This cop was lucky — the s***head even luckier.”
It was just great police work that shows how hard the job is. Life-and-death split-second decisions have to be made. And it’s easy to Monday morning quarterback but very difficult in the heat of action. This officer kept his composure at a time when he would have been forgiven if he hadn’t. It reminds of the amazing job Toronto Police Const. Ken Lam did with the arrest of the killer Yonge Street van attacker in 2018.
Remember, if these things go wrong, officers can end up either dead or criminally charged themselves. Or have to live with killing somebody. “This officer showed incredible restraint,” said CP24 crime specialist and former Toronto officer Steve Ryan.
Policing is not for the meek and mild. In this case in Kitchener, everybody lived.
Nicholas Pisarek, 27, of Kitchener, has been charged with possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, assault police, resist arrest, assault police officer with a weapon, disarming a police officer, and dangerous operation of a vehicle. He has been held in custody until a bail hearing can be scheduled. The charges against him have not been tested in court.
However, he’s not the star of this movie that has gone viral around the world. The star is the officer who did such a great job facing down a hatchet, not losing his cool, keeping the community safe, and helping make an arrest.