Shawnee Police Arrest Man Accused Of Pointing What Seemed Like A Rifle At Drivers

Shawnee Police arrested a man accused of carrying what appeared to be an assault rifle and pointing it at passing drivers near a shopping center.

Several people called 911 to report the incident, which happened at about 5:20 p.m. Tuesday near the intersection of Kickapoo Street and Commercial Drive. The area is home to numerous stores and restaurants.

"You have callers saying, 'You know, I drove by and he's pointing a weapon, so we take all the calls very serious," said Cpl. Vivian Lozano, public information officer with the Shawnee Police Department. 

A cell phone video showed the man holding what appeared to be an assault rifle while walking in a parking lot along Kickapoo Street, with a Hobby Lobby store in the background. 

"He was pointing at cars as they were driving by," Lozano said.

Lozano said when officers arrived, the man complied, put down the gun, and was arrested without incident. 

"You always think about, 'How am I going to be able to control the subject' because our end goal is for everything to be peaceful," said Lozano.

Police then learned what the man was actually carrying.

 "It ended up being a toy gun, an airsoft rifle. But he had modified it and taken the orange tip off of it, which appeared to be real at the time," Lozano said.

The suspect, identified as 63-year-old Clifton Judy, a homeless man, appeared to be drunk, police said.

"Officers believed to have smelled alcohol from his breath," said Lozano.

As for a motive, Lozano said the suspect claimed he was mad at the city, but did not elaborate to officers.

Lozano said no one was hurt.

Judy was booked into jail and faced several possible charges, including assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, threatening to perform an act of violence, carrying a firearm after a felony conviction, and public intoxication.