The Langley chief of police found himself embroiled in an odd familial dispute, according to court documents.

On Oct. 28, prosecutors charged 54-year-old Norman Chapdelaine in Island County Superior Court with the crime of felony harassment – threat to kill, a domestic violence crime.

While on routine patrol in the city of Langley during the evening of Oct. 23, Chief Tavier Wasser received a call from a woman who reported a man was trespassing in her neighborhood and she believed he was going to sleep at the location.

When Wasser arrived, he found a white van parked illegally in a reserved private property parking spot. He approached the driver, later identified as Chapdelaine, and asked for identification, but the man told him to run his license plate number. He swore at the police chief, told him to stop harassing him and said, “All you guys do is steal my stuff,” Wasser wrote in his report on the incident. After a while, Chapdelaine slid his license through the window.

Chapdelaine told Wasser he was there visiting his brother, who lived on the property. He also said his brother had sabotaged his vehicle, and it wouldn’t start. Wasser offered a battery jump, but Chapdelaine refused.

While this was happening, the woman who originally reported Chapdelaine’s presence approached the police chief and told him Chapdelaine was parked in her spot, according to the report. Wasser informed the woman that private property rules were not for him to enforce but that if Chapdelaine’s brother asked him to leave, a trespass order could be enforced. The woman said she was not happy with Wasser’s demeanor and that she was going to talk with someone about it.

At this time, Chapdelaine’s brother arrived at the scene, parking his car behind the van and yelling that he wanted “that piece of (expletive) out of here” and stating that he wanted him trespassed, the police chief wrote.

Wasser ordered the fighting men to separate. When they didn’t, he stepped in between the two of them and guided Chapdelaine’s brother back to his vehicle. According to the police chief’s report, Chapdelaine yelled, “I’ll kill you! I’ll shoot you with a gun!” Wasser turned and saw Chapdelaine reaching into his center console.

Wasser opened the van door, grabbed the sleeve of Chapdelaine’s jacket and told him to exit the vehicle, placing him under arrest for threats to kill. Wasser released him and drew his taser, activating it on Chapdelaine’s left leg, the report states. Chapdelaine told Wasser that he doesn’t even have a gun.

The police chief checked Chapdelaine and found a lighter, a dime, a penny and a gift card. Chapdelaine told Wasser that he had stolen his license.

Wasser stated in his report that the threat to kill, coupled with the action of searching for something, caused him to take the threat as valid and determined it to be aimed at either him or Chapdelaine’s brother.