Credit: NYPD
45th-Precinct-EDP
Bronx, NY (77WABC) — NYPD Emergency Service Unit officers and members of the 45th Precinct in the Bronx are breathing a sigh of relief — after safely apprehending a man with a gun, outside of the police precinct.
“It was a tense situation here this morning, involving an individual, armed with a gun an experiencing some type of personal crisis,” said NYPD Chief of Special Operations Harry Wedin. “As we stand here now, that individual was arrested without incident.”
Authorities say the man, described as emotionally disturbed, arrived at the precinct just after 7:30 a.m. Thursday. He displayed a gun and climbed on top of the vehicle, sparking a tense situation.
“That individual emerged from sunroof with beer in one hand and firearm at the other,” 45th Precinct Commanding Officer Captain Isaac Soberal said. “Officers immediately gave commands for the man to drop what he was holding. The man appeared somewhat disoriented and did not comply. ESU was called and a perimeter was established. Officers began clearing the area to establish a frozen zone.”
Watch as Chief Wedin, from @NYPDSpecialops, speaks about the response of @nypd45pct and Emergency Service Unit officers earlier today to a man with a gun suffering a personal crisis in the Bronx, who was safely taken into custody without incident. pic.twitter.com/tlzKBbd87O
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) July 8, 2021
77WABC has learned the individual even fired one shot. Police say the emotionally disturbed man was so disoriented — he didn’t even realize what he was doing. The man eventually dropped the gun and was safely taken into custody.
“The man appeared to be startled by the gun going off and laid back on the roof of the SUV,” NYPD Special Operations Captain Christopher Giordano said. “Officers from the observation post saw him drop the gun into the vehicle through the open sunroof. ESU officers once again approached the vehicle and took the man into custody without incident.”
The NYPD’s Specialized Training section is a unique division. The Special Operations Bureau comprises personnel with highly specialized training, expertise, and equipment to support other NYPD units involved in operations on the ground, below ground in our subways, in the air, and on New York City waterways, according to the NYPD’s website.
Department members receive rigorous training and are often cross-trained in multiple disciplines in order to ensure that officers are prepared for all situations they encounter.
Some of the instances that SOD might respond to include: barricaded perpetrators, emotionally disturbed persons, jumpers from city bridges, waterborne incidents, searches of missing individuals or suspects, search warrant executions, air and sea rescues, and public disorder events and major disasters.
Thursday’s incident outside of the 45th Precinct is part of the fundamental examples the NYPD is conducting in changing their approach to community policing and de-escalation tactics in order to safely bring those individuals under emotional distress into custody — with the intent of not causing harm or injury to the individual or others.
The man was taken to Jacobi Medical Center for mental evaluation.
