The Observation Deck

At around 10:30 the call went out...

There was a stand off to night on Richland. A man had told his wife he was willing to commit suicide by police. This has got to be a worse-case-scenario for the police.

The man was wielding a large knife keeping the police at bay, by walking and talking non-stop. The man's family came to speak with him, but you could tell he was getting more anxious and the family started to sound desperate.

The police kept assuring him that if he put the knife down he would not be hurt. He asked if he would go to jail, and the police told him. We can not make any promises, but the sooner the better for all. A family member could be heard, saying, "Be a man, put the knife down, it is late and I have to be at work."

The whole thing came to an abrupt end as he walked to the steps as he had before. He looked like he was giving up then turn to walk back in. Pop, ZAP, ZAP, ZAP the man was tazored, and the place was stormed.

About an hour later it was all over.

Lakewood police did an excellent job.

Photos to follow.


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Base station.



There were more police there. The man would walk out on his porch, flash a knife, and taunt police. Later his family would come and try to talk to him.





Seconds before getting tazored. As he turned, pop, zap, zap




Police stormed location.



Man is down and readied for a trip to the hospital.

Strange to see that, I was born, bred and buttered on that street.

Mark Allan Crnolatas

Mark Crnolatas wrote:Strange to see that, I was born, bred and buttered on that street.

Mark Allan Crnolatas

Mark

Get used to it. In an area with a severe drop in emploment and jobs(that would be America), with so many relationships, fallind apart, and the stress level ratched up as high as one would think people can stand it, I belive this will become as common place as car chases in California.

The man was supposedly drunk, and angry. Deciding that sucide by police would be easier than doing it himself or working through his problems. The police, all of them on a very damp night stood almost motionless for over an hour, talking with him and trying to reason with him. I am not sure if anyone has tried to reason with a drunk person that believes he has nothing to live for! They never hurried, they never pushed.

They did an excellent job.

We should all be very proud of them today.

I bet three more this year, if not more.


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Don't tase me bro! Had to say it....

Great job by the Lakewood police, they always seem very efficient and timely.

Was the mayor there?

Grace O'Malley wrote:Was the mayor there?

Grace

I think Mayor Edward FitzGerald has a completely different style of managment.

This was nothing more than a domestic problem. To be honest it was very sad. I call these people A+B thinkers. A I am upset, B I will ponder suicide, they never seem to finish the equation. = what happens when they die, get arrested, look like an idiot, etc. At the end it was extremely sad. He new he was going to the mental hospital, and really did not want to go, and really did not want to die. He looked into the eyes of family, and knew he has disappointed them.

This is where the police have a very thankless job, and where Lakewood Police excel. Their patience, but overwhelming control of the situation is pretty amazing. The worst thing police face is domestic problems, the worst of those is a person looking for "suicide by police."

It was no place for the mayor, and there were no cameras from the media. I shot those 6 houses away, hand held, on a cold damp night.

As for the mayor, I was getting ready to write a post about Lakewood and the next 4 years. To sum up, we must decide if we are fans of Lakewood, or candidates. Me I am a Lakewoodite, I will do everything I can to make this city, and our politicans successful for the next four years.

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So when things like this happen are the police services billed to the party that caused the call? It was noted in another thread that it cost the patient $500 to take an ambulance ride within Lakewood to Lakewood Hospital. What's a fair cost for de-escalating a situation, the time of 4 officers, and the eventual ride to the mental hospital.

I think it's important to note that like most note-worthy, seemingly over-the-top domestic disturbances like this one, the person was once again NOT from Lakewood...he was visiting family in that house. Not that it couldn't have been a resident, as it has been occasionally in the past, but our City's bad rap continues to grow on the shoulders of those who don't even reside within our city limits...and I'm not just talking about Clevelanders either...the last unstable gun-toter was from Avon if I'm not mistaken.

Anyway, I'm thrilled the media wasn't there for once...like Jim said, it was simply a domestic disturbance and handled well by LPD. Cheers to them and to Chief Malley.

Jim,
Although I really like and appreciate your posts and news updates, I think your original post was a bit evasive. I recognize that this was a news event but this guy has a family and I felt a bit bad that what he said and what his family members said was reported on the Deck.
I don't post this to be mean or critical because I really enjoy your posts and work with the Observer.

Kudos to the Lakewood Police. Very Professional.

Joe Dangelo

Joe - That would be reporting.

Do you write this to the PD when they quote people?

We all feel bad for people in that type of mental state and their families, however, that's what happened.

Looks like Mr. Belz is a suspect in a bank robbery last week:

http://www.wkyc.com/news/rss_article.as ... ryid=81208