A Jacksonville man had to be talked out of the Town Brook yesterday.
According to a press release from South Jacksonville Police Chief Eric Hansell, his department received a call at 2:06PM yesterday in reference to a male subject trespassing at the South Main Circle K gas station.
Upon arrival, South Jacksonville Police had found the subject had left the area. Employees said that the man was apparently having a mental health crisis of some kind. Police began searching the area a short time after, and located the subject near Fayette Court and South Kosciusko Street. After being spotted by police, the subject then fled from police and entered the Town Brook.
Due to heavy rains swelling the Town Brook, South Jacksonville and Jacksonville Police alerted the Jacksonville Fire Department and the Morgan County Dive Team to be on standby.
Hansell says that the brook had risen to approximately to 4-5 feet deep placing the individual at risk of drowning. Officers, Mental Health Employees from Healthy Jacksonville, the Morgan County Probation Department, both Police Department Chaplains, and an unnamed Jacksonville citizen all were on scene attempting to speak and help the individual come out of the brook. After speaking with the Jacksonville citizen, the individual eventually came out of the brook and was taken into custody.
According to the report, the mental health stand off lasted approximately an hour and 13 minutes. The 41 year old male subject was transported to Passavant Area Hospital for a mental health evaluation. No injuries were reported for anyone involved in bringing the incident to a peaceful conclusion.
Members of the Jacksonville and South Jacksonville Police departments, the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office, the Illinois State Police, the Jacksonville Fire Department, LifeStar, and the Morgan County Dive Team assisted in the incident.