Lexington, SC (Paul Kirby) – Lexington police officers were able to safely remove a man from a home at the Hickory Hills Mobile Home Park off Industrial Drive Monday evening. Hickory Hills is just off South Lake Drive close to I-20.
Police officers were dispatched to the home around 2:00 p.m. after the county’s 911 center received a call from the man who told them he wanted to end his life. He also said he wanted police officers to come to his home where he would then confront and threaten them to a point that they would have to shoot him.
When the Town of Lexington’s officers arrived at the mobile home park, they made initial contact with the subject. Later, he stopped communicating with them altogether. At that point, trained negotiators tried multiple times to reestablish communications with the barricaded man but had no results.
Sometime around 6:00 p.m., specially trained and equipped officers carefully approached the home and tossed in a phone. They also inserted a small video camera system. Through the camera, the police saw the man’s foot on the floor in a position that indicated he was no longer standing or walking around inside the home. Officers decided to make entry at that point.
Once inside, the police found the man lying on the floor. He was conscious and breathing. Corporal Cameron Mortenson, spokesman for the Lexington Police Department, said. He also indicated that it did appear as if the man had consumed alcohol, drugs, or both. He was safely removed from the home and transported by Lexington County EMS to a hospital. His condition is unknown at this point.
Corporal Mortenson said that the standoff ended with no police officers injured.
