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Man barricaded self inside Harvard Square apartment after pulling gun on health-care worker, police say

Cambridge Police report successfully taking into custody a man they say "pulled a weapon on his health-care worker and then barricaded himself inside his large, multi-unit Massachusetts Avenue residential building apartment" this afternoon.

Police say officers responded to the man's apartment in the 1200 block of Massachusetts Avenue after getting a 911 call from the worker, who had gone to their to provide the man with medication.

The resident became upset, demanded money from the health care worker, and then pulled a weapon on her. The health care worker was able to safely escape by running out of the apartment and calling 911.

Officers, Pro EMS, and the local Community Behavioral Health Center (CBHC) were notified by Cambridge Emergency Communications. Officers and Pro EMS quickly arrived on-scene. Prior to the arrival of a clinician from CBHC, Crisis Negotiators from the Cambridge Police were able to establish a dialogue with the barricaded male while in the apartment building’s hallway and successfully talk him into exiting his apartment. The male was sectioned to a local hospital. He also had three warrants for his arrest, which included breaking and entering at nighttime, malicious destruction of property, and criminal harassment.

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Comments

Are clinicians in Cambridge trained as crisis negotiators?

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I read that as the police doing the negotiating, and they do have negotiators. CBHC clinicians typically wouldn't be out in that position, but there are some plausible exceptions. Most agencies operating CBHCs wouldn't allow it. I'm actually surprised they even sent someone to a situation like that, and part of me wonders if they did.

This is definitely an example of progress in policing. A few years ago, this would have been a lengthy SWAT response.

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He had 3 warrants at the time?
I think we all owe kudos to the crisis negotiators. For managing to not only talk him down but get him into custody

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forbearance on use of deadly force

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But what does that say about our culture when we find it necessary to commend police officers for not killing people?

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I wonder what he needed the money for? His medications were being hand delivered by a person who not only knows his name and address but probably also knows his full health history. Could this be the stupidest attempted armed robbery on record?

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