On June 7, at 1:00 p.m., deputies responded to a lewd conduct call at Spanaway Park. A 40-year-old male was reportedly taking his pants off and yelling at people.
When deputies arrived, they attempted to contact the man, but he ran into the woods. As they followed him, he picked up a hatchet. The man started talking about the devil and god, and challenged deputies to shoot him. At one point, he cut his wrist with the hatchet.
Deputies quickly recognized that the man was experiencing a mental health crisis, and they requested assistance from our co-responders (designated crisis responders).
Eventually, the man threw down the hatchet and deputies took him into custody.
He was transported to the hospital, where our co-responders followed up to make sure he received the mental healthcare assistance he needed.