Deputies used a beanbag shotgun to help subdue a suicidal subject in Beach Park Friday who was threatening family members as well as himself, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
The beanbag shotguns are designed to be used in situations in which lethal force is not believed to be necessary, according to Sgt. Sara Balmes with the Sheriff’s Office.
At about 2:40 p.m. Friday, sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to a residence in the 38000 block of North Sheridan Road in Beach Park regarding a report of a suicidal man. According to a news release, a man was threatening to harm himself and a family member using a knife.
Upon arrival, deputies discovered that the subject barricaded himself into a bedroom of the residence, according to reports.
Deputies at the scene attempted to use “verbal de-escalation techniques” to gain the man’s compliance into exiting the bedroom but had no success, according to the release. Deputies then forced entry to the bedroom door and discovered the subject was “highly agitated while holding a seven-inch knife,” according to authorities.
The man repeatedly told deputies to kill him and, as he made a motion to stab himself, a deputy deployed a beanbag shotgun at the hand in which the man was holding the knife, officials said. That prompted the man to immediately drop the knife, and deputies entered the room and secured the man without further incident.
Authorities said the man was transported to an area hospital with minor injuries and for a psychological evaluation.
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