A “man in crisis” was taken to a hospital Tuesday evening after threatening drivers with a machete on an East Bridgewater street, according to police.
Officers responded to West Union Street around 8:10 p.m. for a report that a man was yelling and making threats while wielding a machete, East Bridgewater police said in a press release. At the scene, they found the 51-year-old man yelling at drivers passing by him on the street while holding a machete and “another tool.”
“Officers surrounded the man, maintained a perimeter, and used repeated verbal commands, including the cruiser’s public address system, to de-escalate the situation until the man dropped the weapons and surrendered without incident,” police wrote in the release.
Firefighters then took the man to a local hospital for evaluation and “to be connected with appropriate services,” police said.
“I want to recognize our officers who showed amazing restraint and professionalism during an incredibly tense call,” East Bridgewater Police Chief Michael Jenkins said in the release. “They relied on their de-escalation training, and the incident ended in the best possible outcome — peacefully, with no one injured and the man receiving the help he needed.”
No further information about the incident has been released.
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