GPD Defuses 2 Potential Suicide-By-Cop Attempts

policelights

By Richard Kaufman

The Greenwich Police Department used sound training and patience to defuse two separate life threatening situations — one on March 8 and one on March 13 — involving emotionally distressed residents threatening to harm themselves with knives.

“We had two instances where officers used extraordinary restraint in a situation that is potentially a deadly-force situation,” said GPD Capt. Kraig Gray. “Those present at the time realized how precarious and badly this could have gone.”

According to Gray, on March 8, officers responded to a call on the west side of town to investigate a male subject who was threatening to harm himself. At some point, according to Gray, the man came out of the house holding a large kitchen knife in his hand. He began acting erratically, and made mention of wanting police units to shoot him.

“This person was dealing with a longterm substance abuse problem,” Gray said. “His parents were trying to manage the household. He became enraged, erratic, threatening and a danger to himself and others and they called us.”

Lt. Eric Scorca, who has a background in hostage negotiations, was able to talk the man down and defuse the situation. The man was not arrested, and instead was taken to a local hospital for evaluation.

On March 13, two patrol officers — David Swift and Erika Garcia — responded to a welfare-check-call on the east side of town involving an intoxicated male. The subject pulled a knife from his pocket, put it to his throat, and demanded officers to shoot him.

Once again, the officers backed off, assessed the situation, and calmed the man down. He, too, was not arrested and was taken to an area hospital.

Gray noted that incidents like this occur more often than the public might think. From March 1, 2017 through March 1, 2018, there have been 17 suicide attempts in Greenwich, four suicides, and 173 cases of emotionally distressed people needing police intervention.

The Greenwich Police Department and its Crisis Intervention Team works with other agencies, such as the Franklin S. Dubois Center in Stamford, which provides people with mental health services, in order to help residents in the field.

“All of our officers deal with this on a regular basis,” Gray said. “We have to be careful, and we have to be disciplined in the manner in which we approach a person in crisis.”

Gray said that people usually call the police when situations are at their absolute worst. He warned residents to not wait that long to get help.

“Reach out, be a little more proactive for yourself and for your family,” he said. “Don’t let it get to the point where the police are there and you’ve apparently run out of options.”

If you, or anyone you know, is experiencing a mental health crisis, call the Dubois Center Crisis Intervention Hotline at (203) 358-8500, 1-800-586-9903. Or call 211.

 

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