Police body camera footage shows how an Ohio officer repeatedly tried to de-escalate a tense situation with a man on a mental health call before he was stabbed by the suspect.
Dayton police released footage Friday of officers responding to a call about a man who appeared to be experiencing a mental health episode.
The officers attempted several de-escalation tactics before the suspect attacked one of them with a knife, WKEF-TV reported.
Watch:
Officer George Kloos was called to 1618 Bancroft Street in Dayton, Ohio, on Thursday, where 29-year-old Tyler Patrick was acting unstable.
Patrick claimed to be hearing voices and said a home invader was somewhere in the house. His mother told police that she had gone to the store and when she returned, she found Patrick banging on the house. She said she did not feel safe with her son at home.
Kloos used calming techniques and tried to interact with Patrick as a friend to de-escalate the situation.
“Are you feeling homicidal, suicidal?” asked Kloos.
“I don’t know how I’m feeling right now,” an aggravated Patrick said.
“Okay, well, that’s why I’m here to talk to you,” the officer said.
“Do you have a health care worker that you talk to? Could we go to Grandview and get you checked out?” Kloos asked, referring to a local hospital called Kettering Health Dayton, formerly known as Grandview Medical Center.
“I’m not going to Grandview,” Patrick said.
The suspect told officers that he believed someone was in his home trying to hurt him. The police repeatedly asked if he was off his medications, and Patrick said he didn’t take meds.
Kloos and the other officers appeared to be familiar with the suspect and indicated they had been called to the home before. Asked if he knew who Kloos was, Patrick said he didn’t recognize the officer. Throughout their interaction, the police treated Patrick with kindness and patience.
But after the officers spoke with Patrick for several minutes and pleaded with him to come peacefully, the suspect lunged toward Kloos and stabbed him in the neck with a knife. The suspect was then taken into custody.
“These officers were doing a phenomenal job at de-escalation. The patience they showed, we are extremely proud of, and I’ll be honest, I don’t know what more they could have done in these situations,” said Dayton Police Department spokesman Major Jason Hall.
The police were sent to the home instead of mental health professionals because there had been previous threats of violence, Hall said. “This was an appropriate call for police.”
Patrick is now facing aggravated felonious assault charges, WKEF reported.
Officer Kloos survived the attack and is at home recovering from his injury.