Pittsfield Domestic Disturbance Prompts Special Response Team

PreviousNext

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A city man was taken into custody Saturday morning after the Berkshire County Special Response Team had to be called out.

Police received two calls shortly before 10 a.m., one from a postal carrier who heard noises and screaming from a home at the corner of Myrtle Street and Stoddard Avenue and another from a family member.

"We're still trying to sort out what exactly occurred inside, but essentially an emotionally disturbed person, a mental health patient, with some medical history who was having a bad way and managed to get his hands on a black powder rifle," Police Chief Michael Wynn said.

"We're pretty sure it wasn't loaded, from the family, but we didn't know for certain so that necessitates a protocol."

The SRT team consists of representatives from local police departments — including Lanesborough, Lenox, Great Barrington, Adams, and Dalton — and the Berkshire County Sheriff's office.

They closed the streets and were able to make contact with the man, enter the house and defuse the situation.

"He was taken into custody without incident and is on his way to the hospital," Wynn said.

Wynn declined to name the man because the suspect was being treated as a medical patient, but said charges will likely be brought related to the domestic disturbance following an investigation.

The streets were to be reopened once the police equipment was removed. Police began leaving the area about an hour after arriving. 

"Everything went as smoothly as could be expected given the circumstances," Wynn said. "When operations go this way, we're very happy. These are the way they're supposed to go."