Sand Springs Man Arrested For Attacking Son With Machete

A 41-year-old Sand Springs man was arrested Tuesday on a complaint of domestic assault with a deadly weapon after police said he attacked his son with a dual-edged machete during an argument. 

According to the Sand Springs Police arrest and booking report, Joseph Michael Kopler was lying on his bed, partially naked and drinking a bottle of whiskey when his son came to his house to deliver a cell phone from Kopler's employer. 

Kopler's son became angry because Kopler had recently been to rehab for alcoholism so he began to yell at Kopler, the report shows.

The son told police he never threatened Kopler, but that he yelled at him over his alcohol use, according to the report. 

After that, Kopler picked up the machete and lunged at his son and tried to hit him with it, the son told police. 

Kopler's son blocked the strike and began to struggle with Kopler when he was cut on his finger and knuckle by the machete, leaving a 1-inch gash, the report states. 

Kopler's son was able to escape and Kopler told him to get out of the house, he told police. 

After the son reported the crime to police, they arrived at Kopler's home and found him still lying on his bed, fully clothed, with three large machetes/swords ?next to him. 

The officers interviewed him and he confirmed his son's story, though he said his son attacked him physically, the report shows. 

Police arrested Kopler on a complaint of domestic assault and battery with a deadly weapon. 

Because was intoxicated and because he complained of severe back pain, officers took Kopler to a Tulsa hospital for a medical exam and clearance, officers wrote in the report. After he was treated, he was booked into the Tulsa County jail. 

Officers recovered three machetes/swords and the victim identified one of them as the weapon he was attacked with.