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Suicide threat closes U.S. 33 |
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Tuesday, 27 May 2008 |
By KAREN CAMPBELL
Staff Writer
ST. MARYS — U.S. 33 was closed for 90 minutes early Monday morning after a Spencerville man threatened to commit suicide by jumping off an overpass.
Auglaize County Sheriff’s Office dispatchers received a 911 call at 4:32 a.m. Monday that Jeffrey S. Dietsch Jr., 20, of rural Spencerville, was standing on the overpass at Ohio 116 and threatening to jump.
Ohio 116 also was closed while officers responded to the threats.
Deputies first on the scene and negotiators from the Sheriff’s Office Special Response Team (SRT) spoke with the man for approximately an hour before threats subsided and he was taken into protective custody, according to a news release.
Dietsch was later transported to St. Rita’s Medical Center in Lima for further evaluation.
Sheriff Al Solomon said this morning there were indications Dietsch may have consumed alcohol before the incident took place.
“Everyone did a good job resolving the situation without anyone getting hurt,” Chief Deputy Mike Eberle said this morning.
While deputies may regularly deal with possible suicide threats, it was unusual to have one of this nature, Eberle said.
The Sheriff’s Office’s SRT is specially trained to handle negotiations and other high risk situations, such as serving arrest warrants for certain offenses and assisting the Grand Lake Drug Task Force, Solomon said.
He said Dietsch could face criminal charges for inducing panic.
Deputies were assisted at the scene by officers from the St. Marys Police Department, troopers from the Wapakoneta Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol, and members of the St. Marys Rescue Squad. |
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Last Updated ( Friday, 30 May 2008 )
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