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Nasir Clark, 21, of Paterson had violated a court order by going to his ex-girlfriend's home off River Drive, Police Chief Michael Foligno said, noting that his department has "dealing with this with him the past couple of weeks now."
Clark was charged earlier this year with punching and pistol-whipping the victim.
SEE: Fugitive Wanted For Punching, Pistol-Whipping Woman Surrenders To Elmwood Park Police
He’s also awaiting trial on attempted murder charges for a Paterson drive-by shooting in early 2020.SEE: Paterson Trio Seized In Car-To-Car Shooting
Clark took off when he saw officers approaching Monday afternoon, Foligno said. They were chasing him on foot when he suddenly "pulled out a knife and began stabbing himself," the chief said.
The 250-pound suspect then refused orders to drop the weapon, he said.
Despite the circumstances, Officers Joseph Rocca and Aviana Ingui remained restrained throughout the ordeal, said Foligno, who was among the backups who rushed to the scene.
Unable to get Clark to drop the knife, Rocca doused him with pepper spray, he said.
Clark struggled as the officers got him into handcuffs and resisted efforts to roll him onto his back to stop the bleeding, Foligno said.
"He remained combative the entire time," the chief said.
The officers had to handcuff and strap Clark to a gurney so paramedics could stabilize him before heading to St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center, where Foligno said he underwent emergency surgery.
Then they exhaled.
"We train for this stuff all the time through our own defensive tactics program," Foligno said. "I believe that training played into the response.
"This is the kind of thing that can go horribly bad. It could have ended in deadly force if he'd brandished the knife against them," he said.
"They went up the use-of-force ladder incrementally without going too far and saved his life," the chief said. "I couldn't ask for more."
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