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Police use taser on man near The Trop

Posted at 2:43 PM, Dec 26, 2015
and last updated 2015-12-26 17:07:49-05

An armed man was tased by police and taken into custody outside Tropicana Field before the St. Petersburg Bowl Saturday morning, authorities said.

A Pinellas County sheriff's deputy was working crowd control outside The Trop, the site of the annual college bowl game, about 10:15 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 26.

The deputy was escorting people across 16th Street when a man in the group bolted away from them, St. Petersburg police spokesman Mike Puetz said.

Concerned about the man's suspicious behavior, the deputy ran after him.

The unidentified man turned and pulled out a knife, according to police. When he failed to drop the weapon as commanded,  the man was tazed by an officer on the scene.

He was taken into custody under the Baker Act for mental evaluation, Puetz said.

No injuries were reported.