On July 8th around 9:20 p.m., police were dispatched to the 700 block of Saint James Street for a report of a male subject who was causing damage to a pickup. Police arrived in the area to locate the pickup, which had a damaged windshield, and the suspect. When the first responding officer attempted to make contact with the individual, the individual started approaching the officer with a dark colored object resembling an edged weapon. The man was ordered to stop and drop the weapon at gunpoint. As the man continued to approach the officer in an aggressive manner, a backup officer was able to approach the man and successfully deploy his Taser to bring the suspect to the ground. He was placed in handcuffs and identified as 33-year-old Lawrence Laroche of Rapid City. The object in his hand was identified as a broken piece of a vehicle window visor shield. Laroche would ultimately be placed under arrest for Simple Assault on Law Enforcement and 2nd Degree Vandalism before being transported to the Pennington County Jail.
