Regina police have charged a 31-year-old man with mischief, attempted theft of a motor vehicle and assaulting an officer with a weapon after an incident Friday morning downtown.
It started around 11:40 a.m. when police responded to Lorne Street and 11th Avenue for a report of a man smashing windows with a long piece of metal rebar.
When officers arrived, the man dropped the rebar but quickly picked it up and began swinging, a media release said.
Police deployed a taser, but it was ineffective.
The 31-year-old continued swinging the rebar, hitting the police cruiser and breaking the windshield, the release said.
A second try with the taser also proved ineffective.
At that point, police said the man dropped the rebar, got into the cruiser and tried to put it in gear.
The taser was deployed a third time with what police describe as limited effectiveness.
Police removed the man from the vehicle during a struggle.
On a fourth attempt, the taser was successful and officers were able to arrest the man.
He suffered minor injuries in the ordeal.