Sheriff’s deputy safely deescalates suicide by cop attempt
DOVER – Tuscarawas County Sheriff Orvis Campbell is praising one of his deputies for deescalating a situation that could have turned deadly.
Campbell says Deputy Sergeant Phil Valdez encountered an angry man with a knife around 2:30 p.m. Saturday after getting a report of a man threatening people with a weapon walking along state Route 39 in Dover near Kimble headquarters.
It turns out the man called police on himself and was trying to commit suicide by engaging a police officer.
Valdez drew his gun as the man cursed at him and threatened him, but he didn’t fire. Valdez, an experienced deputy, kept space between them and eventually convinced the man to drop the knife.
Campbell says the man is in jail now, and authorities hope to get him the mental health services he needs.