Tense Moments As Route 6 Mental Health Crisis Leads To Standoff With Knife: Police

YORKTOWN, NY — A welfare check tied to a mental health call led to a brief vehicle pursuit in Yorktown and a later police stop in Cortlandt, before ending peacefully, Yorktown police said.

According to the Yorktown Police Department, the tense incident began on Wednesday, around 3:35 p.m., when officers were following up on a prior mental health call in Yorktown. Police reported it was believed a subject of the call was having an ongoing mental health crisis. Officers found a vehicle being driven by the subject of the concern on Route 6 in the Town of Yorktown. Police initially attempted to stop the car to conduct a welfare check, according to the department.

Police said the man fled in the vehicle when officers tried to stop him. The department reported that the pursuit was terminated quickly by a sergeant "to safeguard the public," and that the information was then shared through the Westchester County Real Time Crime Center to other jurisdictions.

Yorktown police said members of the F.B.I. Safe Streets Task Force later found the vehicle in a parking lot, in the Town of Cortlandt. However, according to the department, when officers made contact, the man brandished a knife and fled the scene.

The vehicle was soon stopped on Westbrook Drive, in the Town of Cortlandt, by officers from several neighboring agencies. The department said the man was still armed with the knife and threatened to harm law enforcement officers at the scene.

After several minutes, officers were able to get the troubled man to discard the knife and exit the vehicle, according to Yorktown police. He was taken to an area hospital without incident for evaluation and treatment.

The Yorktown Police Department thanked the New York State Police, Westchester County police, the F.B.I. Safe Streets Task Force, the Peekskill Police Department, and the Westchester County Real Time Crime Center for their assistance in the delicate matter.