SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Sept. 16, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — Officers with the Salt Lake City Police Department on Friday stopped a man who was reportedly holding a long drill bit in a threatening manner and asking at least one of several people in a parking lot if he wanted to fight.
The man arrested was 31-year-old Maxwell Cowan.
Police were alerted by a 3:31 p.m. Friday call to dispatch about a man “threatening several people near 1500 South 500 West,” says a statement issued by the SLCPD Public Relations Department.
Cowan “was witnessed using threatening behavior toward the victim,” court documents say. Cowan “lurched toward the victim, had clenched fists, and asked the victim if he wanted to fight. The victim stated that he feared for his safety. When police arrived on scene, (Cowan) appeared to be angry and puffing his chest. When he saw me he grabbed an object that appeared to be a long thin metal object later identified as a long pointed drill bit.”
The affidavit said several people were around Cowan, interacting with him when he grabbed the drill bit.
“He became aggressive and put himself in a stance to where I believed he would try to stab me if I got close,” the SLCPD officer’s statement says. “He refused to drop the item and ran away. He was told to get on the ground, but he kept running until he was Tased. (Cowan) later uttered to the fire department that he had used cocaine shortly before the incident, which I overheard.”
Cowan initially provided a false name, the statement says. In addition, he is a registered sex offender considered non-complaint due to not updating his address, as required.
Cowan was arrested for investigation of:
- Possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person, a third-degree felony
- Six counts of failure to register as a sex offender, a third-degree felony
- Threat/use of dangerous weapon in a fight, a class A misdemeanor
- Fail to stop at command of law enforcement, a class A misdemeanor
- Two counts of failure to disclose identity, a class B misdemeanor
- Threat of violence, a class B misdemeanor
- Intoxication, a class C misdemeanor
Actual charges, if any, will be determined by the Salt Lake County Attorney’s Office.
Cowan’s bail was set at $2,500.
