A police encounter escalated after a Middletown trooper responded to an early-morning report of a man walking down Interstate 84 in Wawayanda on Feb. 1, according to police.

When police found the man, they say he initially gave a fake name, and continued to walk away from the trooper.

When the trooper attempted to stop the man, later identified as 24-year-old Jahri Evans, he began to resist and attempted to seize the trooper’s gun from his holster.

Evans was taken into custody with the help of a retired New York State Police investigator who witnessed the encounter.

He was charged with criminal possession of a weapon and robbery, both felony counts.

Evans was also charged with false impersonation, resisting arrest and obstruction of governmental administration.