Officers commended for handling situation with knife-wielding man

Columbus Police Chief Mike Richardson recently presented five Columbus officers with letters of commendation after an incident last summer with mentally ill man brandishing a knife.

According to police, Sgt. Oscar Olmeda was called to a home in July to check on the welfare of a man, who had a history of mental illness. The man pulled a knife and threatened to harm Olmeda, who then retreated from the home and called for assistance.

Sgt. Robert Mitchell and Officers Alex Hill, Andrew Celik and John Busack arrived and police spoke with the man for 90 minutes to try to get him to drop the weapon. They eventually used Tasers and bean-bag rounds, but he retreated back inside the home.

Police soon noticed that he was no longer wielding the knife and after a short struggle, they restrained him. He was taken to an area hospital for mental health treatment.

Richardson praised the officers for deescalating the situation.