Fond du Lac police use sponge bullets on Oconto man who said he was armed and approaching school
FOND DU LAC - The Fond du Lac Police Department used sponge bullets Monday afternoon to help control a man walking in the middle of a street who said he was armed with a pistol.
Officers responded to the intersection of Marquette Street and East Merrill Avenue where a 23-year-old Oconto man was yelling obscenities and telling officers to shoot him, according to Police Chief Aaron Goldstein. He said the man refused to remove his right hand from his front sweatshirt pocket during the interaction.
The man subsequently walked into an open parking lot and then north toward East Rees Street in the direction of a nearby school, where students were located.
Officers in a Bearcat armored vehicle fired the lightweight, high-speed projectiles, and through additional negotiations the man was eventually taken into protective custody without further incident.
The man was placed on an emergency detention.
Goldstein said the man did not have a firearm on him.
The Fond du Lac Police Department was assisted at the scene by Fond du Lac Fire/Rescue.
Contact Kevin Dittman at 920-431-8416 or kdittman@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Fond du Lac Reporter: Fond du Lac police use sponge bullets on Oconto man near school
