SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine — City police resorted to using a Taser on a 29-year-old man allegedly threatening suicide on Tuesday evening, a police official said.
Police were notified of the man, who had been threatening suicide by overdose and a knife, around 9:30 p.m., according to South Portland police Lt. Frank Clark.
The man’s name was not released.
Officers located the man inside his pickup truck in a parking lot, and the man jumped out of the vehicle and confronted police in an aggressive manner upon being asked to open his window, Clark said.
The man refused to comply with commands, and retrieved a hockey stick from the bed of the truck and challenged police with it, Clark said. Eventually he dropped the stick but continued to defy officers’ commands.
One officer attempted to physically restrain the man, but he punched and assaulted the officer, and a Taser was subsequently used to subdue the man, Clark said.
Police recovered a knife and marijuana from the pickup and the man was taken to a local hospital for a medical and psychological evaluation.
The case will be forwarded to the district attorney for possible charges.
Police encourage anyone having feelings of hopelessness or helplessness to contact the department’s crisis team at 774-HELP.
