Yesterday on Tuesday February 11, 2020 the Park County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) received a call reference an individual that was threatening to commit suicide with a pistol in the Hartsel Community of Park County. The PCSO, along with the assistance of the Fairplay Police Department, responded to Hartsel in order to locate and contain the situation. Sheriff McGraw contacted family members of the individual threatening suicide and was able to determine a location where he was located at in Hartsel. Due to the close proximity to occupied homes, the roads leading into Hartsel were blocked off and a Code Red was issued to residents of Hartsel. During further contact with family members, further information was obtained that the individual had threatened to kill law enforcement personnel and would possibly kill law enforcement during a suicide attempt. Sheriff McGraw was able to contact the individual by phone. The individual related that he had left the Hartsel area and was now in the Fairplay area. Law enforcement then proceeded back to the Fairplay area. During the drive time to Fairplay, Sheriff McGraw again was able to contact the individual and was able to determine that he was located in the area of Castello Avenue and 8th Street and that he would meet law enforcement in the parking lot of the Family Dollar store. A Fairplay police officer was very quickly able to locate and maintain surveillance on the individual. Due to the dangerous situation in the area, the South Park School was notified and all students were secured inside the school. The Park County offices were also locked down. Upon arrival at the Family Dollar parking lot, the area was shut down by law enforcement. The individual, upon being confronted by law enforcement, immediately surrendered without incident. The individual was detained and transported to a mental health facility for observation and evaluation. No firearms were located on the individual and no criminal charges have been filed at this time.
This situation was quickly resolved without injury to the individual, the public and law enforcement due to the professionalism and joint cooperation of the Park County Sheriff’s Office, the Fairplay Police Department and the 911 Dispatch Center.
