At approximately 5:38 a.m. Monday, Oct. 2, 2023, the West Fargo Police Department responded to the 1900 block of Burlington Drive in pursuit of a male who fled from a traffic stop. 

Upon arrival, the male exited the vehicle and produced a gun and made suicidal comments to officers on the scene. Officers surrounded and contained the incident to the garage, but the male was unwilling to comply with verbal commands. Officers attempted to de-escalate the armed incident and utilized a shotgun to deploy a less lethal bean bag round. 

The male dropped the gun, but still would not comply with verbal commands. In attempt to further de-escalate the situation, officers deployed pepper balls into the garage forcing the male to exit where he was taken into custody. 

“I want to commend all of the officers involved for their response to this mental health call for service,” said Chief Denis Otterness. “The use of multiple types of less lethal options successfully de-escalated this potentially dangerous incident.”

The male was transported to a local hospital on an emergency mental health hold.