DRW standoff with suicidal man ends peacefully

A reported domestic dispute at a home in Deschutes River Woods Tuesday night turned into a standoff with a suicidal Oregon City man armed with a large kitchen knife who eventually was taken into custody, Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies said.

Deputies responded around 9:25 p.m. to the 18000 block of Shoshone Road in the rural subdivision south of Bend on the report to dispatchers of a domestic dispute, said Lt. Mark Eggert.

Just as the deputy arrived on scene, dispatchers reported a man was outside of the home with a knife and was suicidal, Eggert said. The deputy located the man in the yard, armed with the large kitchen knife, who refused directions to put it down.

The deputy was able to get family members at the scene off of the property to a safe location, Eggert said.

Bend police officers and Oregon State Police troopers soon arrived on scene to assist in the incident, as deputies continued to talk to the man in an attempt to get him to drop the knife.

The man continued to yell and challenge police to shoot him, the lieutenant said, and began cutting his arms and stabbing himself.

Police attempted to subdue the man by using less-than-lethal beanbag-type projectiles, Eggert said, but he ran inside the otherwise unoccupied home for about 20 minutes.

Police maintained a perimeter and tried to communicate with the man, who eventually left the home – without the knife – and was taken into custody without further incident.

The man was taken to St. Charles Bend for treatment of his injuries and a mental health investigation. Eggert said an investigation determined that family members were unhurt.

The man’s name was not released for medical privacy reasons, Eggert said. The case will be forwarded to the Deschutes County District Attorney’s Office for review.