Brookline Police deploy robot into apartment of barricaded man with knives

BROOKLINE, Mass. — Police on Friday deployed a robot and pepper spray into the Brookline apartment of a barricaded man with knives during a four-hour standoff with officers.

At approximately 3:33 p.m. Friday, officers responded to a Sewall Avenue apartment for a call from a neighbor who told police they had seen a person in the hallway with two knives, Deputy Police Superintendent Paul Campbell said in a statement on Friday night.

Police said there had been earlier reports of erratic behavior in recent days involving the same man.

When officers arrived, the man went inside his apartment and closed the door. Officers saw the man with a knife before he went inside, Campbell said.

The man, while inside his apartment, was not responding to officers’ attempts to communicate with him. Officers were allowed access into the apartment through a code from the building’s management.

Police then used an SRT robot to go into the apartment, and deployed pepper spray, and the man went into his bathroom and closed the door, Campbell said.

“At this point they were able to establish a dialogue with him, and he eventually discarded two knives that he had with him,” Campbell said.

At 7:35 p.m., the man came outside of the bathroom and was taken into custody.

He was taken to Beth Israel Hospital for an evaluation, police said. It was unclear Friday if the man will face any charges.

During public safety responses that can quickly escalate into a crisis, police often send robots or robotic K9s into more dangerous territory to assess a situation and to help keep first responders and the public safe.

In March, during a seven-hour standoff with an armed man barricaded inside a Hyannis home, state police sent in Spot, a robotic K9, to find the suspect inside.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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