North Haven Police Subdue Suicidal Woman

North Haven Police successfully subdued a suicidal woman who pointed a black handgun at officers and pleaded with them to shoot her.

The North Haven dispatch center received a report of a woman walking in the middle of Washington Avenue despondent over the recent death of her son at about 11:40 p.m. on Nov. 5.

Officers responded to the scene, but the woman had fled prior to their arrival.

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Police said a K-9 track was initiated in an attempt to locate the woman before she had an opportunity to harm herself.

Officers located the woman near the railroad tracks that parallel Washington Avenue. As officers attempted to make contact with the female, she displayed a black handgun and began to point it in the direction of the officers.

While officers were giving commands to put the weapon down, the female subject was repeatedly told them to shoot her, according to police. She then turned toward Washington Ave. and began to walk away from the officers toward a populated area.

One of the officers holstered his duty weapon and transitioned to his Taser.

Police said the officer was able to avoid using deadly force by successfully deploying his Taser to control the armed woman. The female fell to the ground and officers were able to disarm her without any injury.

Upon closer inspection of the firearm (pictured above), officers learned it was an airsoft pistol. The woman was also found to be in possession of two large knives.

The woman was transported to an area hospital to receive treatment for the mental health episode.

“Sergeant Thorpe, Officer Gaspar, Officer Brennen, and Officer Janosko did a tremendous job successfully resolving this situation without the use of deadly force,” Police posted on Facebook.

Photo courtesy of the North Haven Police Department