CMPD arrests man having mental health crisis after standoff in southwest Charlotte
Police arrested a man after a SWAT team standoff in southwest Charlotte on Monday.
Someone called 911 around 8:30 a.m. to report a man behaving erratically at an apartment near the intersection of Woodlawn Road and Scaleybark Road, said Deputy Chief Zeru Chickoree of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.
“Officers had been out with him and were familiar that he had warrants on file,” Chickoree said. “Given the fact that he might have been armed, we take every precaution that’s necessary to preserve life, so we activated our SWAT team on duty.”
He was having a mental health crisis, the deputy chief said. Chickoree didn’t know the details of what prompted the initial 911 call, but said that it “warranted a police response.”
For several hours, residents in nearby apartment complexes watched. Some people who had to evacuate the complex where the standoff was taking place watched as well.
Police used gas to help drive the man from the apartment, Chickoree said.
Police planned to search the man’s apartment to see if he had a gun, Chickoree said. Police did not release the man’s name.
“There is a mental health nexus to this, so we are trying again to provide him with the resources that he needs,” Chickoree said.
In July, police were called to a Circle K gas station near SouthPark Mall about a man having a mental health crisis. He wouldn’t come out of the gas station.
CMPD called SWAT to that incident and arrested the man.
