Man In Mental Health Crisis Barricaded With Large Knife, Hammer: Cops

MIDDLETOWN, NY — A man suffering from a mental health crisis was involved in a tense standoff with police, according to authorities.

The City of Middletown Police Department says officers were asked by the Orange County Mental Health Mobile Response Team on Wednesday, at 2:11 p.m., to respond to a John Street home to assist with a welfare check on a man who was reportedly non-compliant with his medication and mental health treatments.

Officers who arrived on the scene spoke with the mental health workers and helped in trying to speak with the resident inside the apartment.

After knocking on the door, the man came out of the apartment and spoke illogically and incoherently, according to police.

The officers tried to convince the man to speak with the mental health workers, but he refused, angrily arguing with them and making aggressive statements, according to cops,

Police attempted to verbally de-escalate the situation by explaining their reason for the visit.

However, the man then challenged the officers to a fight and pulled out a large knife from inside his waistband, and threatened the officers who were standing next to the Orange County Mental Health Mobile Response team staff, witnesses said.

The officers stepped back from the home and requested additional officers and resources to assist with the incident. A perimeter was then established around the home, neighboring apartments were evacuated, and trained crisis negotiators tried to establish a line of communication with the man.

The man in the residence refused further attempts to de-escalate the situation and aggressively yelled at the police officers and mental health case workers, pulling out the original knife and also a hammer, according to officials.

After about 1.5 hours of unsuccessful negotiations for the man to voluntarily surrender to police, the Orange County Sheriff's Office Special Operations Group was asked to help with negotiations and de-escalation.

After an additional hour of unsuccessful negotiations to get the man to surrender, the sheriff's deputies forced entry into the home, at which point the man aggressively exited the apartment and approached the deputies with the large knife in his hand, according to police on the scene.

The deputies were able to disarm the man using a Taser and foam baton round, and he was taken into custody, police said.

The man was evaluated on the scene by EMS and was then taken by EMS and Middletown police officers to Garnet Health Medical Center's Behavioral Health Unit for a mental health evaluation.

Once he is released from the hospital, he will face one count of menacing a police officer and two counts of second degree menacing for threatening police officers, sheriff’s deputies and the mental health staff members.