ST. GEORGE – A section of Interstate 15 was closed down while police dealt with a man wielding a weapon early Friday morning.

St. George Police Capt. James Van Fleet said officers were notified about a man standing in the middle of I-15 south of Exit 4 at 2:20 a.m. The man was attempting to hit passing cars with a what was described as a three-foot long  piece of metal an as they passed by.

Officers arriving in the area soon located a still-running vehicle parked on the side of the road with Michigan plates .

While a backup officer was traveling to the last reported location of the man with the weapon, the same man walked into the officer’s lane of traffic.  The officer took immediate action and swerved to miss the man but struck him in the hand with a side mirror.

The officer and another backup officer stopped to assess the individual. As they approached, they he stood up with a three-foot long metal object in his hand. He started walking toward the officers and told them to kill him.

The man did not comply with repeated commands to drop his weapon, and he struck a police car multiple times with the weapon as officers tried to get him to put it down.

Traffic on I-15 was stopped while they were dealing with the man. Medical personnel were also called to the scene.

As the officers tried to communicate with the man, he charged the officers again with his weapon.  He was subsequently tased and taken into custody without further incident. He was then taken to Dixie Regional Medical Center for treatment.

While officers were dealing with the man, they learned that officers on a previous shift had cited and released him for possession of Marijuana.

The man, a 67-year-old resident of Ann Arbor, Mich., was arrested and booked into jail for aggravated assault on a police officer, criminal mischief, and disorderly conduct.