Deputies Use Taser To Disarm Knife-Wielding Man During Mental Health Crisis: Police

LAKE COUNTY, IL — Lake County sheriff’s deputies used a Taser to disarm a knife-wielding man who threatened to stab officers during a mental health crisis Thursday night at a home in unincorporated Mundelein, authorities said.

Deputies with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office responded at about 9 p.m. to a residence in the 26300 block of North Elmwood Road after a man called 911 requesting a police response, according to a news release from the sheriff's office.

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While on the phone, sheriff’s telecommunicators could hear the caller say he intended to stab responding officers, information that was relayed to deputies before they arrived. When deputies reached the home, they heard screaming coming from inside.

As they knocked on the door, the man, described as being in his 30s, began striking the door from inside and threatened to kill any officer who entered, authorities said.

The man then opened the door and exited the home holding two knives. Deputies used de-escalation techniques and issued commands while attempting to create time and distance between themselves and the man, according to a news release.

When the man advanced toward a deputy while still armed, a deputy deployed a Taser, which stopped his advance. Deputies then disarmed the man and took him into protective custody.

The man was transported to a nearby hospital for a mental health evaluation and treatment, and a petition for involuntary admission was filed.

Investigators later learned the man had been struggling with mental health issues and had previously made statements suggesting he was trying to provoke law enforcement into using deadly force, according to the sheriff’s office.

Deputies searched the home for firearms but did not find any.

Lake County Sheriff John D. Idleburg said the incident reflects the department’s crisis intervention training and programs such as its Crisis Outreach and Support Team (COaST), which focus on safely responding to incidents involving people experiencing mental distress.

“This is exactly what we train for,” Idleburg said in a statement. “Faced with an armed individual making violent threats and advancing toward them, our deputies used restraint and sound judgment to resolve this safely.”

The man "is still receiving mental wellness help at the hospital" and has not been charged, Lake County Sheriff's Office Chief Christopher Covelli told Patch on Saturday.

No deputies or other individuals were injured, authorities said.