Police Helping Montco Man After Saving Him From Alleged Suicide Attempt
By Jim Melwert
ABINGTON, Pa. (CBS) -- Authorities say an Upper Dublin man was attempting what's become known as "suicide by cop" when he pulled a gun on officers, Sunday night. Abington police were able to subdue him without using deadly-force. Now, they say, they're helping to get him the help he needs.
Sunday evening, Upper Dublin police got a call for a suicidal man who had just left his house with a loaded hand gun.
Around midnight Abington police found the man. As they were talking to him, Lt. Patrick Molloy says the man pulled out his gun. An Abington police sergeant grabbed his arm and was able to control the gun:
"As they were holding the weapon and his wrist, he repeated several times, 'Just end this, just shoot me, just kill me.'"
Molloy says he saw the man the next morning, as he was taken to Norristown State Hospital:
"The individual was in tears, and wanted me to personally thank the officers for saving his life."
Molloy says every incident is different but life-and-death, split-second decisions come down to training, adding Abington police just recently had lessons in de-escalation, and they regularly focus on physical fitness, which helped here as the man was 5'11" and 260 pounds.