Cops stop emotionally-disturbed man from killing himself with broken bottle

MORRIS TOWNSHIP — Township officers were able to prevent an emotionally-disturbed man from killing himself Sunday.

Morris Township acting chief Mark DiCarlo said in a news release officers responded to Monroe Street shortly before 6 a.m. on a report of a 27-year-old Morristown man stabbing himself with a broken bottle.

DiCarlo said the man was “highly agitated, making comments about ‘hearing voices and wanting to die.'” The man, he said, also had cuts on his body and continued to stab himself in the chest with the broken bottle.

Officers from Morris Township and Morristown repeatedly ordered the man to drop the broken bottle and to stop hurting himself over the course of 20 minutes, the DiCarlo.

The man eventually dropped the bottle when Morris Township Officer Robert Hydock brought out a “less lethal device” called the FN303, which fires a non-penetrating plastic projectile.

“The device was not fired, however, the warning to use the device was enough for the male to drop the broken bottle,” DiCarlo said. “The FN303 is just one of several non-lethal devices the Morris Township Police have acquired in order to have options other than lethal force when dealing with violent individuals.”

DiCarlo said he was proud of officers with Morristown and Morris Township Police Departments “for maintaining their primary responsibility of ‘preserving life’ and and providing much needed mental and medical assistance.”

The man was taken to the Morristown Medical Center for treatment and evaluation after the incident, DiCarlo said.

Justin Zaremba may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JustinZarembaNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.