WARREN (WWJ) - It was a situation that could've ended in tragedy if it weren't for two Warren police officers who helped a 17-year-old boy who held a gun to his own head during a mental health crisis on Monday.
In police body cam footage of the July 17 incident, Officer Chad Rossow and his partner, Officer Charles Cobble, of the Warren Police Department could be seen and heard responding to an alarming phone call about an armed teenager in the area of Nine Mile, just west of Van Dyke.
When they arrived at the scene, the two officers quickly recognized the boy was going through a mental health crisis and desperately needed help.
"I don't want you to die," one of the officers could be heard talking to the teen, who was holding a handgun to his head and telling police he didn't want to live. "You got a family, you got a mom. What do you think? You got a brother or a sister? What do you think they're going to feel? Huh? What do you think they're going to think? You really think that they want you to die?"
In the exchange, the teen told officers that he was receiving care at a mental health facility and was released too soon.
"Let me help you," Rossow replied.
Both officers promised the boy that they would get him back into treatment if he dropped the gun.
“Hold on, you are OK,” Rossow said.
The teen eventually dropped the gun and visibly cried tears of relief -- in the video, the boy told officers he felt that someone had finally listened to him.
“He was actually really a nice individual,” Cobble told WDIV. “We put him into handcuffs, but he was just upset. He was going through a crisis, and we recognized that, and we acted appropriately.”
The teen was taken to a mental health facility after the incident where his father awaited him, WDIV reported. Family members thanked the two officers for their intervention.
No other information about the incident was released.
For those in crisis, help is available. Suicide prevention resources include:
• The National Suicide Prevention Hotline can be reached over the phone by dialing the three-digit code “988.”
• Crisis Text Line is another resource, offering a texting service for emotional crisis support. To speak with a trained listener, text HELLO to 741741. It is free, available 24/7 and confidential.
• The Veteran Crisis Hotline is 1-800-273-8255, press 1.