Patience, training, the right equipment and good communication helped deputies disarm a Central Florida man holding a loaded gun to his head recently.
Deputies responded to the call around 6:11pm and found an Orange City 87-year-old man in a state of intoxication and disorientation.
Sgt. Jason Stickels was familiar with him and began negotiating with him at length, as seen in this body camera footage.
Despite those repeated efforts, deputies were not able to convince the man to drop the gun.
At 6:52pm, deputies moved in with less lethal shotguns, striking him with four rounds. He dropped the firearm, and deputies safely took him into custody.
He was transported to the hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries and taken into protective custody under the Baker Act.
While he had indicated on scene that he intended for law enforcement to end his life, he later thanked deputies for taking him into custody alive.
Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood will be awarding the Medal of Tactical De-Escalation to everyone involved in the successful resolution of this incident.
