On Sunday, October 20, 2024 at 5:44 pm, the Grand Forks Police Department was notified of a suicidal subject who was believed to be beneath the Kennedy Bridge in Grand Forks. The subject was believed to have a handgun, and he was believed to have driven his pickup to the bridge.
Upon officer arrival, a single gunshot was heard coming from the area beneath the bridge. The responding officer is a member of the Grand Forks Regional Unmanned Aerial Systems team, and he had a drone in his patrol car. The drone was deployed, and a male subject was located near the bridge, and he was carrying a handgun. Due to the subject’s behavior, it also appeared that he was very intoxicated.
Officers closed off the area around the bridge, to include closing all traffic on Gateway Dr. At one point the male subject got into his vehicle and drove a short distance on the Greenway before stopping. Officers attempted communications with the subject, but there was no response at this time.
The Grand Forks Regional SWAT team, Crisis Negotiations team, and Unmanned Aerial Systems team were all activated to assist on the call due to the public nature of the incident and potential high risk to the public.
The Crisis Negotiations team was able to establish dialogue with the subject via cell phone and after a couple hours, it appeared that the man was going to surrender and seek help. The negotiations eventually ended, and the subject threw two different drones that had landed on his vehicle, which had been used to observe his actions. When the subject attempted to throw a third drone that was on his vehicle, members of the SWAT team deployed a light sound diversionary device in an attempt to distract the subject, and other members deployed less lethal impact munitions to prevent the subject from getting back into his pickup, where the handgun was still located. He was taken into custody and then to Altru Hospital for mental health treatment. No charges were filed at this time, and no further information will be released due to the mental health nature of this call.
The Grand Forks Police Department routinely responds to mental health calls and would encourage anybody having a mental health crisis to call 211 to speak with somebody on the local resource hotline, or 1-800-273-TALK (8255) for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
