Elderly man Tasered by SWAT team following Pierce County standoff
May 13, 2014, 1:57 PM | Updated: 2:56 pm
Police in Pierce County had to tase a suicidal 80-year-old man who brandished a handgun and drove his scooter at an officer.
Pierce County Sheriff’s Detective Ed Troyer says the incident began shortly after noon at an apartment complex for seniors where the man lived in the 2800 block of Alder Street in Milton.
Someone called 911 to report the man threatened to hurt himself and anyone who stopped in.
The man had fled on his motorized scooter by the time deputies arrived. They evacuated four neighboring units as a precaution.
The SWAT team found the man nearby wearing a cowboy hat and handgun strapped across his chest with a handmade holster, Troyer says.
An officer subdued the man with a Taser. He was not arrested, but transported by ambulance to a local hospital for medical treatment and evaluation.
Troyer says the man stated he had nothing to live for. Milton police found three rifles in the man’s apartment.
