Royal Oak, MI - Police dashcam video captured the tense moments as Royal Oak officers arrived at 12 Mile Road and North Main Street early this morning.
Several drivers and neighbors had called 911 to report a man with a knife standing in the middle of the intersection.
The knife-wielding man himself was one of those callers. "Come get me," the 38-year-old Royal Oak resident said in a 911 call.
It was about 2 in the morning. Royal Oak police now say they believe the man they encountered was having a mental breakdown. Behind him, his mother was found outside a vehicle, urging him to put the knife down.
Police also ordered him to drop the knife. The dashcam video shows the man held on to the knife and walked toward officers. They fired a Taser at the man which brought him to the ground.
"Immediately before this incident," police say, "He had told his mother that he was going to kill himself by getting the police to shoot him."
Police Chief Corrigan O'Donohue praised his officers for the way they handled the man. “Suicide by cop, as it is commonly known," he said, "is one of the most precarious situations we deal with in law enforcement."
The man was later transported by police to Providence Hospital for a psychological evaluation. Police say he has a history of mental illness.
