A young Hobart police constable was forced to draw her gun when she and her partner were allegedly threatened by a woman armed with a running chainsaw.
The two female officers, each in the force for less than three years and aged in their 20s, responded to a disturbance at Claremont on Sunday night where the 24-year-old was reportedly using the saw to threaten a woman and her young child.
"Upon police arrival they were confronted by a lady that had secreted herself in the bushes," Sergeant Chris Hey told reporters on Monday.
"(She) had in her possession a chainsaw which she threatened police with, made threatening verbal comments, and actually started the chainsaw up and moved toward police in a threatening manner."
The 24-year-old continued to approach the officers, who were also trying to shield the victims of the earlier incident.
"It's fair to say that a firearm was drawn ... the chainsaw going and being threatened, it's fair to say the officers responded in an appropriate manner," Sgt Hey said of the standoff that lasted about a minute.
The woman subsequently threw the chainsaw toward police and ran off.
She was arrested nearby and no one was injured.
"It's situations like this that put police in vulnerable situations around Australia on a day-to-day basis - it was serious enough for the police officers to feel that a firearm needed to be drawn," Sgt Hey said.
The alleged offender has been charged with two counts of assaulting police.
A few hours after her release the woman was stopped by police for drink driving.
