Paynesville Man Accused of Fleeing Police, Engaging in a Standoff, and Assaulting a Police Officer

(KNSI) – A 29-year-old Paynesville man has been charged with several felonies after a wild series of events Saturday that began with him allegedly evading police during a chase earlier in the day, and investigators say it ended with him assaulting an officer and getting tazed early Sunday morning.

According to the criminal complaint, on Saturday, police in Cold Spring tried to stop a car for a burned-out headlight. An officer ran the license plate information, which showed the car belonged to Jordan Richard Schmidt-Jonsen. When the officer tried initiating a traffic stop, Schmidt-Jonsen sped away. The officer lost sight of his car near Paynesville after speeds hit over 100 miles an hour.

Later Saturday, a neighbor told police they woke up to a banging noise and looked out to see Jordan Richard Schmidt-Jonsen hitting a door with an axe. He said he told Schmidt-Jonsen to get away from the door, but instead, he came after him with the axe and raised it in a threatening way.

When officers tried getting Schmidt-Jonsen to come out of his apartment, he allegedly refused. The criminal complaint says police called in the SWAT team who tried negotiating with him, but he again refused to surrender. SWAT team members say Schmidt-Jonsen was threatening officers, saying he would fight to the death and kill them. They say he was walking around in his apartment with knives, axes and “a large bludgeon.” According to the criminal complaint, “Officers describe the bludgeon as a two to three-foot hand-carved wooden club with a diameter approaching that of a softball.”

The SWAT team tried using tear gas to get Schmidt-Jonsen to surrender, but court documents say police had to force their way in. That’s when, officers allege, Schmidt-Jonsen ran across the room with the bludgeon raised over his head, and swung at an officer, who deflected the blow using his riot shield, but, police say, as the officer was retreating to the doorway, Schmidt-Jonsen hit the officer once or twice. The officer then blocked the doorway with his shield, allowing others inside the apartment to use their tasers to get Schmidt-Jonsen under control and into custody.

He has been charged with fleeing police, assaulting a police officer, and two counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon. Bail has been set at $200,000 without conditions or $100,000 with. No future court date has been set.

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