Suicidal man incites standoff with local police

After a standoff that lasted more than five hours Saturday night into Sunday morning, police apprehended a 41-year-old Bloomington man who was threatening to commit suicide.

At about 10:43 p.m. Saturday, police responded to a report that a man on the 1600 block of South High Street was threatening to shoot himself, Bloomington Police Department Sgt. Faron Lake said.

Police evacuated the man’s mother, who also resides at the address, when they arrived at the scene, Lake said.

Homes in the surrounding area were evacuated, and the High Street intersection was blocked off while police negotiated with the man on the phone.

After several hours, the man ended communication with negotiators.

A Critical Incident Response Team entered the home and deployed pepper spray gas into the man’s bedroom, Lake said.

The man exited the room but failed to comply with police orders and was shot twice with sponge rounds, non-lethal blows that stunned the man into compliance, Lake said.

He was taken into custody at about 4:22 a.m. Sunday and was transported to IU Health Bloomington Hospital for a mental evaluation.

A firearm was not recovered at the scene, but Lake said the man had been involved in a similar standoff in February in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in which he did have a gun.
No charges have been filed against the man, Lake said.

— Katie Mettler