An Amsterdam man is accused of choking a person to near-unconsciousness and waving around a machete during a domestic fight.

Amsterdam Police were called to Taft Place around 12:30 Saturday afternoon for a report of a of a man walking with a machete. The suspect, Joel G. Torres, 28, dropped the weapon and began to run away as officers approached, police said.

Torres was arrested after a brief foot chase.

Torres also hit the victim in the face and put his hands around the victim’s neck, police said. He then allegedly picked up a safe and threw it through the window, police said. Torres also grabbed a machete and waived it around the residence, causing damage, police said.

Torres was charged with felony counts of strangulation, criminal possession of a weapon and aggravated family offense. He also faces misdemeanors, including criminal mischief, resisting arrest, criminal possession of a controlled substance, two counts of endangering the welfare of a child and a violation of harassment.

He was arraigned in Amsterdam City Court and sent to Montgomery County Jail.