Wallingford Police Taser Man Brandishing Knife

Wallingford Police subdued a 19-year-old man who was brandishing a knife with a Taser after he told officers to shoot him and that he wasn’t going back to jail after he allegedly tried to cash a stolen check.

Patrick Tardif, of 15 Cooper Avenue in Wallingford, was arrested after the standoff, which lasted about 10 minutes on Wednesday afternoon with no reported injuries, according to Lt. Cheryl Bradley.

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Wallingford Police responded to the First Niagara Bank, located at 316 Main Street in the Yalesville section of town, at about 2 p.m. on the report of a man attempting to cash a stolen check.

As the first officer arrived, he was advised that the suspect, later identified as Patrick Tardif, who was charged last year with stealing mail from 77 homes in town and forging and cashing checks worth several thousands of dollars, had left the bank on foot after retrieving a backpack from a vehicle in the bank parking lot, according to Bradley.

A witness told police that Tardif fled on foot and had reportedly walked south behind a small strip mall.

The initial responding officer drove around the building and located Tardif. As the officer approached Tardif, he pulled out a knife and pointed it in the direction of the officer, according to Bradley.

Bradley said Tardif began to walk away while telling the officer to shoot him and that he was not going back to jail. He then stopped and faced the officer, still refusing to comply with the officers instructions to drop the knife, according to Bradley.

As other officers arrived, they were able to subdue him with the use of a Taser. Bradley said the entire standoff lasted approximately 10 minutes with no reported injuries.

Tardif was taken into custody and charged with second-degree forgery, sixth-degree larceny, criminal attempt at sixth-degree larceny and interfering/resisting with an officer. He was held on a $10,000 bond and transported to court on Feb. 11.

Bradley said police are conducting further investigation based on a complaint from a family member of additional stolen checks having been cashed over the past several weeks.

Wallingford Police Department photo