Soldotna man arrested for assault -- not for the first time

A 31-year-old Soldotna man with a long history of police encounters was arrested last Friday morning in Chugiak by Anchorage Police. In a release, Clifford W. Stephens was arrested after being subdued by multiple rounds from a stun gun and charged with third degree assault for chasing a woman around a car with a knife.
    The arrest happened at 8 Friday morning near South Birchwood Loop.
    Police said they told Stephens to drop the knife, but at first he refused before dropping the knife and running at officers. At that point, police said officers twice deployed tasers to subdue him.
    Stephens continued to kick and try to roll away as officers were placing handcuffs on him, the police wrote. No injuries were reported in the incident.
    According to the Alaska Star, which first reported the incident, this is at least the fourth arrest this year for Stephens, who was awaiting trial for a July assault at the time of his most recent brush with police. Stephens was also arrested for theft in March and for criminal mischief in April.
    In addition to the new case, he’s also facing two third-degree assault charges and a resisting arrest charge from an incident that took place in July in Seward.