February 17, 2022 – Hartford, WI – On Tuesday, February 15, 2022, at approximately 12:35 p.m., the City of Hartford Emergency Communications Center received a call from a female subject who indicated a male subject in the residence was cutting himself with a knife.
The caller indicated she was barricaded in the bathroom away from the male party. She indicated the male subject became upset pursuant to an argument they were involved in and began harming himself.
Officers were dispatched to the residence. While on the phone with our Communications Officer, the female caller indicated the male breached the bathroom door but did not enter.
The caller then stated she believed the male party may have left the residence. As officers arrived on scene, they discovered the male party sitting in a vehicle outside the residence.
Officers positioned their squads to block the vehicle from leaving and prepared to contact the male subject. Officers ordered the male to exit the vehicle, however the male subject continued to sit in it.
Eventually the male subject exited the vehicle and walked towards officers while still brandishing a knife.
Officers attempted communication with the approaching male subject at gunpoint. The male subject refused to comply with commands and continued advancing toward the officers with a knife in his hand. Officers were able to safely deploy less than lethal measures against the subject and ultimately take him into custody without injury to the first responders.
The female caller was treated on scene for minor injuries and released. The male subject was flown by medical helicopter to Aurora Summit for treatment of self-inflicted knife wounds. The deployment of less than lethal options in this situation likely saved the male individual’s life.