On September 8th at 5:45 a.m, North Precinct patrol officers responded to a report of a mentally ill 45-year-old man breaking windows and other items inside of his third floor apartment, located in the 13700 block of Midvale Avenue North. Responding officers observed him heave a futon bed out of his window into the apartment complex courtyard below. Officers noted that he had already thrown a microwave oven and other items out of his window and that his ongoing actions posed a hazard to those beneath.
Officers set up a perimeter and attempted to communicate with the man. Intitial attempts were unsuccessful. Hostage negotiators responded and tried to engage the man but their attempts were also without success. A Mental Health Professional responded due to the fact that this person’s health condition was known. SWAT officers were called to the scene and after some time deployed chemical irratants into the man’s apartment. Ultimately, it required SWAT officers to make entry into the man’s apartment in order to capture him. This occurred at 1:59 p.m, over 8 hours into the call.
The man has been transported to Harborview Medical Center and with a request for involuntary committment. In his current state, he is believed to be a danger to himself and others.