Man With Large Knife Threatens To Murder Officers, Families, Cops Say

A man who was detained following a burglary-in-progress call has been accused of threatening to shoot several Bristol Township officers with a sniper rifle.

Officers were called to an auto detailing business in the 3100 block of Bath Road last Saturday around 8:03 p.m. for a burglary in process. A person advised that a man had just broken a window at the business with a metal chain, causing about $300 in damage, according to court papers.

While an officer was responding, she learned the suspect was leaving the business on a bicycle and the caller provided a detailed description.

Officers were quickly able to locate the suspect as he rode through the police station parking lot off Bath Road, police said.

An officer noted the man was carrying a “large knife” as he rode his bicycle and failed to respond to the presence of police, authorities said.

As the man moved along Bristol-Oxford Valley Road, he dropped the knife and failed to listen to officer orders to lie on the ground, police said.

Officers were forced to take the man – identified as Ali A. Harrison-El, 51, of Levittown – to the ground. At the time, he struggled with officers, threatened to kill them, and kicked at them, police said.

Harrison-El was taken to the emergency room of Lower Bucks Hospital and yelled threats at officers numerous times, police reported.

“He stated that he is a trained United States Marine Scout sniper with a high confirmed kill count. The defendant stated numerous times that he still had his sniper rifle and had a .50 caliber round for each of the officers,” an officer wrote in court papers.

Harrison-El was also accused of threatening to “murder” the families and children of the five officers, adding he would put explosives under the officers’ vehicles.

A green metal container found on Harrison-El contained a small amount of suspected marijuana and five white oval pills, police said.

At the Bristol Township police station, Harrison-El was spotted via video scraping the window sealant of the holding cell window, police said.

It was further noticed that Harrison-El broke a pair of leg shackles and used a prong of the shackle to scrape away the black caulk from the window, police said.

The damage to the window and shackle totaled $550, police said.

While in the processing room, Harrison-El attempted to bite a sergeant on the arm. He also stated he was not under arrest and wanted to debate the matter, police said.

Throughout the arrest, Harrison-El was reported by officers to be “very aggressive and confrontational.” He also called an officer a “negative term.”

Harrison-El was arraigned by on-call District Judge Maggie Snow on multiple charges, including terrorstic threats, possession of an instrument of crime, institutional vandalism, resisting arrest, and criminal mischief. He was jailed on 10 percent of $1,000.

Harrison-El was out on a bail after spending several weeks in county jail over winter for a driving with a license suspended or revoked case that is slated for court this summer.

Harrison-El previously served time in prison for criminal trespassing in 2011 and terroristic threats in 2008, according to county court records. He previously had other run-ins with police.

Editor’s Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The story was compiled using information from police and public court documents.

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