Man surrenders after standoff with Providence police
by: Sarah Doiron
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — A Providence man was brought to the hospital following a standoff with officers at his apartment Wednesday evening.
Major Roger Aspinall told 12 News officers went to the man’s Douglas Avenue apartment upon receiving a request for a wellbeing check from a mental health clinician.
“There were some threats that were made, so the officers thought the best thing to do was to pull back,” Aspinall explained.
Aspinall said the man’s fiancée had barricaded herself in a bedroom and did not have a way to escape the third-floor apartment.
“She felt like she wasn’t able to leave,” Aspinall said. “She was clearly scared.”
A person was just removed from the home and brought to an ambulance. Roads have reopened. Appears this incident has ended without serious injuries. @wpri12 https://t.co/BtBoxWFjYQ pic.twitter.com/jFrxqb3kqR
— Corey Welch (@CoreyWelch) October 23, 2024
Aspinall said negotiators kept an open dialogue with the man, who was armed with a knife, for nearly three hours. He eventually threw the knife down the stairs to the officers and accepted their help.
The man was brought to Rhode Island Hospital for evaluation.
“He’s now getting the help that he needs … and that’s the most important thing,” Aspinall said.
The streets surrounding the apartment building were shut down out of an abundance of caution, according to Aspinall, since officers weren’t sure whether the man had a firearm.
“We were told there was a weapon, but we had no intelligence whatsoever,” he said. “We were trying to look out for the wellbeing of everyone around.”
The man’s fiancée was not injured in the standoff. It’s unclear if the man will be facing any charges at this time.