Woman confronts off-duty deputy

A Willows woman is lucky she was not shot by police after reportedly charging at them with a sharp hunting knife over the weekend, police said.

Sarah Butler was Tased and arrested after chasing after two men, one of whom was an off-duty sheriff's deputy, with the knife in the area of Walnut and Shasta streets in Willows on Saturday.

Butler, 36, was booked into the Glenn County Jail on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and resisting arrest.

Deputy Darrin Dicharry was off-duty and leaving the bar on foot with a friend, Greg Waits, when they spotted a woman laying prone on the ground near Plumas and Shasta streets, Willows police Chief Bill Spears said.

Spears said the woman suddenly jumped to her feet, began screaming incoherently and chased after the two men, wielding the approximate 4-inch blade.

The woman was later identified as Butler, police said.

Dicharry was not armed as department policy prohibits officers from carrying their duty weapons when consuming alcohol in public. He called dispatch from his cell phone, saying a woman was trying to stab them.

Two Orland police officers, Grant Carmon and Zachary Lopetguy, were in Willows after booking a suspect in an unrelated arrest and responded to the call for help.

Willows Officers Darrin Brown and Ray Vessels also responded.

"They confronted the woman who continued to yell obscenities and challenged the officers to shoot her as she wielded the knife," Spears said Tuesday.

Lopetguy deployed his Taser and incapacitated the woman, who was taken into custody without further incident.

Spears said that the Taser likely "save her life."

"Years ago, before the advent of the Taser, the it is highly likely that situation could have resulted in the use of deadly force," Spears said. "I'm glad it was not a deadly force situation, but it easily could have been not so long ago."

Butler posted a $27,000 bail bond and was released the following day, jail staff confirmed.

She is due to make her first court appearance Oct. 12.

Contact Rob Parsons at 934-6800 or rparsons@tcnpress.com.