APD and Dommunity Members Collaborate to Prevent Potentially Dangerous Situation

Aug. 13, 2020

Officers with the Albuquerque Police Department recently assisted in helping a man whose behavior had grown increasingly concerning.

After attending the Albuquerque Street Connect meeting, an outreach collaboration that focuses on helping people experiencing homelessness, officers were notified about a man who’d been frightening community members.

The man recently went into an open downtown business and began swinging a large knife around causing the employee on duty to lock themselves in a bathroom.

Once officers learned of the potential threat, and ensured the safety of employees, the Downtown Team immediately began working to get him the help he needed. They obtained a certificate for evaluation and located the man later that day.

When officers made contact with him, he was severely disorganized and still had the knife on his person. He had misinterpreted what a knife was and what it was used for, and the officers knew he needed medical attention.

The officers took the man to an area hospital to be evaluated. Thanks to the community collaboration to help a man in crisis, a potentially dangerous situation was prevented.