Allegedly told passersby he would shoot them
The Beacon Police Department said it arrested a man on Main Street on Sunday (April 21) after witnesses said he had threatened to shoot people. No gun was found.
In a statement, the department said that, based on body camera footage, an officer who located the suspect “deployed his rifle, as is appropriate for a call where a firearm may be involved, and attempted to get him to put his hands on the wall. He refused to comply multiple times until eventually putting his hands on the wall.”
The footage showed that, as other officers arrived and attempted to handcuff the man, “the suspect pulled his arm away from them and in front of his body. Officers, still unsure if he was armed or not, forced the suspect to the ground,” utilizing what the department described as a “body segmenting” technique to control him.
“Body segmenting is a technique, which is taught in compliance with New York State’s Municipal Police Training Council standards, in which officers use pressure on the hips, head and legs (depending on the number of officers available) in order to control a combative suspect’s movement while simultaneously avoiding putting pressure on any areas that would impact the suspect’s ability to breath,” the department said.
The suspect was transported to headquarters, where police said he refused medical treatment.
It appeared as if this person was in the middle of a mental health crisis. If he was, why weren’t those services deployed? The City of Beacon recently signaled implementing an entire system to handle these types of emergencies. From what’s written in this article, and events on the scene, there was no firearm and the police did not de-escalate. I would urge readers of this article to understand that all of the practices and procedures within the New York State’s Municipal Police Training Council standards are performed at every officers’ discretion and preference.