Suicidal Man with Rifle Taunts Royal Oak Police in Hopes of Shootout
(Royal Oak Police Chief Corrigan O’Donohue, Dec. 3, 2019)
Royal Oak, MI – On December 3, 2019 at approximately 2:23am, the Royal Oak Police Department responded to a commercial building in the 4900 block of Fernlee Avenue in response to a suicidal subject.
The person indicated he was armed and wanted to kill himself in a shootout with police. Officers responded and set up a perimeter while negotiating with him over the phone. Officers from Troy, Clawson, Madison Heights, Berkley, and Birmingham were utilized to help with the perimeter.
The subject was armed with a rifle and repeatedly exited the building. Although he never pointed the rifle directly at anyone, he did try to provoke officers into shooting him by attempting to walk up on officers and quickly reaching for the weapon. At one point he approached a perimeter officer and forced him into an area where the officer had nowhere to retreat, all the while holding the rifle at his side and motioning like he was about to level it at the officer. At this point other officers distracted him, and he turned his attention to them.
Eventually the subject returned to the business and the Oakland County SWAT officers arrived and took over the inner perimeter. Just before 5:00am, a less lethal munition was used to temporarily disable the subject. He was taken into custody and transported to William Beaumont Hospital for minor injuries and a mental health evaluation.
“The officers on scene utilized excellent teamwork and showed tremendous restraint while continuing to attempt to deescalate the situation. This individual stated several times he wanted to shoot it out with police. I can’t emphasize enough what a great job our officers did tonight, particularly the level of restraint they exercised in this incident.” Chief Corrigan O’Donohue.
NOTE: Police Reports come directly from the Police Department or agency involved and are written by the person or agency listed below the title. We generally run these “as is” or with minimal editing for punctuation, spelling, etc. Suspects should not be presumed guilty. Those needing more information about a case are encouraged to follow up with the reporting agency or court system for the most current information.
This story is presented without advertising due to the subject matter. Please support our sponsors at https://oaklandcounty115.com/sponsorshipadvertising/.
Help prevent suicide by knowing the warning signs and where to get help. Click here for a previous post about suicide prevention.
Eventually the subject returned to the business and the Oakland County SWAT officers arrived and took over the inner perimeter. Just before 5:00am, a less lethal munition was used to temporarily disable the subject. He was taken into custody and transported to William Beaumont Hospital for minor injuries and a mental health evaluation.
“The officers on scene utilized excellent teamwork and showed tremendous restraint while continuing to attempt to deescalate the situation. This individual stated several times he wanted to shoot it out with police. I can’t emphasize enough what a great job our officers did tonight, particularly the level of restraint they exercised in this incident.” Chief Corrigan O’Donohue.
NOTE: Police Reports come directly from the Police Department or agency involved and are written by the person or agency listed below the title. We generally run these “as is” or with minimal editing for punctuation, spelling, etc. Suspects should not be presumed guilty. Those needing more information about a case are encouraged to follow up with the reporting agency or court system for the most current information.
This story is presented without advertising due to the subject matter. Please support our sponsors at https://oaklandcounty115.com/sponsorshipadvertising/.
Help prevent suicide by knowing the warning signs and where to get help. Click here for a previous post about suicide prevention.
