Woman charged for lunging at cop with knife

PALMER — On Friday, a grand jury formally charged a 41-year-old woman with lunging at a police officer with a knife.

Though the case against Stacey Ann Onstott was only opened Friday, the assault leading up to it happened Nov. 3, according to documents filed in the case by Officer Kristi Muilenburg with the Palmer Police Department.

Muilenburg writes that at 7:49 p.m., she was sent to an apartment on Bonanza Street.

A worker for the crisis line at Mat-Su Health Services told dispatchers that Onstott had called, and said she took 24 sleeping pills and was going to drive somewhere, then hung up.

Muilenburg writes that she showed up at the apartment and saw Onstott’s pickup parked outside.

“The apartment was dark. I did not hear any sounds or movement from the apartment. I knocked several times and announced, ‘Palmer police.’ I called out Onstott’s name. The door opened about a foot to 18 inches and Onstott was standing in the opening with the door pulled against her. Onstott said, ‘WHAT!’” Muilenburg writes.

The officer told Onstott she was there to see if she was OK and said she was there to help. Onstott shut the door, so Muilenburg resumed knocking and calling Onstott’s name.

“Just after my last knock the door flung open in an aggressive manner. I immediately drew my weapon and started backing away. At the same time, Onstott lunged out the door towards me. Onstott had a knife in her hand. She extended her arm and jabbed towards me with the knife. She yelled, ‘I’m going to kill you, leave me the (expletive) alone,’” Muilenburg writes.

Muilenburg yelled at Onstott to drop the knife and kept backing away.

“I felt like Onstott was going to kill me and I was going to have to fire my weapon at her to prevent her from doing that,” Muilenburg writes.

Muilenburg called for backup and kept urging Onstott to drop the knife. Onstott instead put the knife on her wrist and said she was going to kill herself. She then backed into her apartment. That’s when more officers arrived.

“My sergeant, Sgt. (Jamie) Hammons, arrived first and was followed shortly thereafter by approximately seven Alaska State Troopers,” Muilenburg writes. “Trooper Sgt. Paul Wegrzyn yelled for Onstott to come out. She did, but with the knife at her throat. Several troopers told her to drop the knife. She dropped the knife and collapsed to the ground by her own power.”

Troopers kicked the knife out of her reach and Onstott was handcuffed.

“While we were trying to talk to her, she pulled her leg forward and then kicked backwards, striking Trooper (Andrew) Gault in the leg. Onstott was placed in leg restraints because she would not stop kicking and thrashing around,” Muilenburg writes.

Onstott was not arrested that night.

“Due to Onstott threatening to kill herself and possibly taking too many sleeping pills coupled with alcohol, Onstott was placed under Title 47 and not arrested,” Muilenburg writes.

Title 47 is the section of Alaska Law that deals with welfare, social services and institutions. Parts of that title specify when a person can be committed to psychiatric treatment facilities.

A grand jury convened last week charged Onstott with assault, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.

Contact Andrew Wellner at 352-2270

or andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com.