A 41-year-old Brainerd man was hospitalized for evaluation following a 3 1/2-hour stand-off with law enforcement the afternoon of Friday, Dec. 7, at a residence near St. Mathias Road and Business Highway 371, south of Brainerd.
Capt. Scott Goddard of the Crow Wing County Sheriff's Office said authorities were called about 11:30 a.m. to a residence south of Brainerd for a person they believed wanted to harm themselves. Authorities were able to safely escort five people out of the residence. The people and the Brainerd man are known to each other, Goddard said.
The Crow Wing County Sheriff's Office Tactical Team was called to negotiate with the Brainerd man and multiple agencies in the Brainerd lakes area assisted in maintaining the perimeter around the residence. A Minnesota State Patrol aircraft hovered around the residence and Brainerd and Crosslake firefighters and others flew drones around the area.
Goddard said the Brainerd man had a handgun and was in a truck in the driveway of the residence during negotiations.
"Fortunately, for all parties the negotiating team was able to convince him to comply with us and he is currently in custody," Goddard said about 4:15 p.m. Friday. "Our next step now is to get him to the hospital to seek help. Everything, of course, will be sent to the county attorney's office for possible charges-but this is not our focus in this case. He was having some issues and our job a lot of times is not to go out and arrest someone, but to get them the help they need. This time it took more resources, but the conclusion is one we all look forward to."
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Goddard said there are times when people need help and are able to get it-and in some cases, like Friday's incident, people don't know how to get help and will take it to extremes in the public eye.
"We always tell people to get help," Goddard said. "We are here to help you with any call you have and if we can't help you, we know where to find the experts who will be able to help you."
For those who need help may call the Crisis Line and Referral Service, 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 218-828-4357 or 1-800-462-5525.
A large number of law enforcement and emergency personnel staged in the parking lot at American Door Works off Business Highway 371 during the incident and around the residence. Brainerd, Baxter, Pequot Lakes and Breezy Point police departments, Brainerd and Crosslake fire departments, North Memorial Ambulance and the state patrol assisted the sheriff's office at the scene.
Goddard said all the agencies worked well together throughout the incident.
"We put a lot of time and training into situations like this," Goddard said. "And it's beneficial and rewarding to see how well we all work together. We had agencies from the state and our local guys and everyone came out at a drop of a hat, which is what happens on calls like this. Many were off today but came in to help."
