A 38-year-old Watertown man was arrested after he allegedly pulled out a knife on police who stopped to talk to him after he was found asleep behind the wheel of a running vehicle.
Police came across the running vehicle on Purvis Street at Main Street on March 31 at 1:05 a.m. When police looked into the car, they saw a man, later identified as Mark A. Mackenzie, who appeared to be passed out at the wheel, said Watertown Police Lt. James O’Connor.
“While checking his welfare, the officer was able to wake him up,” O’Connor said. “It took yelling and banging on the window and the man appeared to be disoriented.”
The man was asked to turn off his engine, and when he attempted to do so he turned the heat off and said he had shut off the engine, O’Connor said. The officer had to open the door and turn the car off.
The officer detected a strong odor of alcohol, and the man admitted to consuming alcohol. The man also had difficulty retrieving his driver’s license, O’Connor said.
A second officer arrived at the scene and the first officer went to inform the second about the situation.
“The officer observed Mackenzie open the center console, move his body around,” O’Connor said. “When he asked him to stop moving, the officer observed Mackenzie unfolding a knife in his right hand. He was immediately removed from the vehicle and the knife was secured.”
A second knife in a sheath was found in the vehicle, O’Connor added.
Police then administered field sobriety tests, and police placed Mackenzie under arrest, O’Connor said.
Mackenzie, 38, of Watertown, was arrested on charges of driving under the influence of alcohol – a third offense and assault with a dangerous weapon, O’Connor said.