Bend Police shoot man with foam rounds, Taser, before arrest

Published 12:00 pm Wednesday, August 9, 2023

Bend Police shot a man with nonlethal foam rounds and a Taser before arresting him Monday on suspicion of threatening people with weapons.

Robert Nivison Gwin, 46, of Bend, faces charges of the unlawful use of a weapon, menacing, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and criminal mischief, Bend Police spokeswoman Sheila Miller said in a news release.

Police responded to NE Dekalb Avenue around 9:15 p.m. Monday after receiving a report that a man threatened a woman with a shotgun and a knife, Miller said.

The woman had approached him about a dog wandering in the street, Miller said.

As police headed to the scene, the man hit a person’s truck with a metal object, chased someone else in the street and threatened other people, Miller said.

Police arrived and the man, identified as Gwin, hopped in his blue 2003 Toyota Camry and allegedly ignored police commands, Miller said. Instead, police say he climbed on top of his car while talking on the phone.

He wore a utility kilt, a 10-inch knife on his waist and a 3-inch knife on his ankle, Miller said.

After Gwin allegedly continued to ignore officers who told him he was under arrest, an officer fired two 40mm foam rounds into his torso, Miller said. Then another officer fired a Taser at Gwin — twice.

Police arrested Gwin, took him to St. Charles Bend for an evaluation and then booked him in the Deschutes County jail, Miller said.