Public kudos re-enforce a job well done, says Oak Bay Police Chief Constable Andy Brinton.
Officers were called to the marina Friday afternoon over concerns about an individual wandering a local marina for three hours. They located and spoke to the man shortly before 5 p.m.
“Our members suspected pretty early on that he probably did have some mental health issues of some type,” Brinton said. After about 20 mins of attempts to communicate officers determined they would need to apprehend the man to ensure he wouldn’t hurt himself.
“We tried to talk him into the car,” Brinton said. “At one point he took a swing at one of our members, as a result we had to physically control him.”
The individual went to hospital “for appropriate care.”
He was not harmed and the officers sustained scrapes and bruises and continued with their duties.
“This type of event happens far more frequently than many realize. I’m very pleased there were no significant injuries,” said Deputy Chief Ray Bernoties.
Members of the public witnessed the interaction, responding on social media to commend the officers.
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“It’s nice to hear this feedback,” Brinton said, adding officers are trained in crisis de-escalation. “We always try to talk our way through things.”
One Twitter user was impressed with officers’ actions as “they treated a mentally ill man very respectably relative to his actions.”
“I believe our members did it in the most respectful way they could. It was nice to hear this kind of feedback, Brinton said. “We treated this fellow with respect and that’s generally the way we try to approach these things.”
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