Man Accused of Threatening Sheriff’s Deputy With Meat Cleaver

On Friday, June 29, Sergeant Scott Secor, a Deputy Sheriff with the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office, responded to a report of a suspicious man walking on Thorpe Road with a rifle on his shoulder. When deputies arrived on scene, they found a man matching the description sitting on the lawn of a residence.

According to Secor, the man was holding a rifle in one hand and a meat cleaver in the other hand. It was later determined that the identity of the man was Steven G. Johnson.

Secor instructed Johnson to drop the weapons, but the Johnson refused, saying that he was “going home,” and proceeded to walk away. The Secor then drove past Johnson in an attempt to block traffic as Johnson was walking on the road.

Johnson continued to walk toward Secor with weapons in hand, at which point Secor aimed his shotgun at Johnson and ordered him to drop his weapons. Johnson responded by saying “shoot me,” … “come and get it, you think I’m afraid to die?

Johnson eventually dropped the rifle, but held onto the meat cleaver and continued walking toward Secor. Secor then approached Johnson, who again refused to drop the cleaver. Johnson then made an aggressive move toward Secor, forcing the deputy to use a Taser. The Taser was used multiple times, but was ineffective due to the layers of clothing being worn by Johnson.

At this time, more law enforcement officers had arrived on the scene. A group of four officers attempted to take Johnson down and place him in handcuffs, but he fought them and they all tumbled into a ditch with running water. Eventually Johnson was placed in handcuffs and taken into custody.

A glass marijuana pipe was reportedly found in his pocket.

Johnson was then transported to the Gallatin County Detention Center and charged with Obstructing a Peace Officer, Resisting Arrest and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

The Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office contributed to this report.