After a deputy with the Broward County (Fla.) sheriff’s department who had previously been the focus of a domestic call drove his marked car from his home to his ex-wife’s house on the Boca Raton, Fla. club’s property, a SWAT team was called to the scene. Officers were eventually able to convince the deputy to surrender, and he was taken into custody for psychiatric evaluation.
A deputy with the Broward County (Fla.) sheriff’s department is under mental health evaluation after a two-hour standoff on Father’s Day at Boca Country Club in Boca Raton, Fla., The Sun-Sentinel of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. reported.
The deputy, who co-workers had said was acting strange and despondent, drove his marked car from his home in Broward County, Fla. to his ex-wife’s house at the country club, which is in Palm Beach County, the Sun-Sentinel reported.
A SWAT team was called to the scene and there were reports the deputy threatened to harm himself, the Sun-Sentinel reported. But after two hours, officers were able to convince the deputy to surrender.
The deputy had given his weapon to a co-worker before the standoff began, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Eric Davis told the Sun-Sentinel.
Davis said it was unknown whether the deputy was on-duty at the time and whether there were any other weapons in his possession. “We weren’t sure, so that’s why we took the actions that we did,” he said.
The deputy was not identified by either the Broward County or Palm Beach County sheriff’s offices, the Sun-Sentinel reported, and Davis said his ex-wife was not home and no one was injured.
The incident ended about 2:30 p.m. when the deputy was taken into custody under the Baker Act, a statewide law allows people to be taken into custody involuntarily for psychiatric examination.
After the evaluation, Davis said, the deputy’s return to work will be up to the Broward Sheriff’s Office.
Television station WPEC CBS 12 of West Palm Beach, Fla. reported that the Palm Beach (County Sheriff’s Office said the incident began as a domestic call at around 11 a.m. at the deputy’s home in Broward County.
At that time, WPEC reported, authorities had the deputy surrender his gun based on the statements he was making. Investigators said the deputy then drove to Boca Country Club in his patrol car and did not respond to requests for him to surrender.
WPEC reported that Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office brought in a number of resources as a precaution while dealing with the deputy, and residents of the Boca CC community were not allowed in or out of the property during the standoff, with several command posts, deputies, and Florida Highway Patrol troopers blocking one entrance.
Authorities reopened the entrances to the club around 3 p.m., WPEC reported.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office said no charges will be filed as a result of the incident, WPEC reported.
The Baker Act, the common name for the Florida Mental Health Act of 1971 that was sponsored by State Rep. Maxine Baker, allows for several possible outcomes following examination of a patient, including their release to the community, a petition for involuntary inpatient or outpatient placement, or voluntary treatment.
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