“For several hours, bewildered Ipswich [MA] residents wondered why so many police cruisers raced through town, as a State Police helicopter hovered in the sky,” boston.com reports. “During the nearly two-hour episode, streets leading to the bridge were blocked off, and Town Hall, a nearby school, and several homes were evacuated. Andrea Leroux, who lives on County Street, was on her way to a hair appointment when she saw the road was blocked by police. Although it was a mild sunny day, she thought maybe the river had crested and there was flooding. She said a police officer told her, that ‘it was a man with a gun and to keep moving.’ [Moving targets and all that.] The fact that all the commotion turned out to be all about a man with a walking stick did not bother her. ‘I’m just relieved,’’ Leroux said. ‘Evidently, the man said he would kill himself when he called the police. Whether it was a gun or not, I tend to err on the side of caution.'”

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8 COMMENTS

  1. Meh… The problem with irrational suicidal people is that… they’re irrational and suicidal. This one called and taunted the police AND not only appeared to have a rifle but acted like he did; pointing it (his cane) at the police. All signs indicated that this guy was ready to go down shooting. He’s probably lucky they negotiated with him at all.
    Also, it looks like it’s a relatively small town which often have officers who don’t have much else to do. Officers who would jump at the oppurtunity to play Rambo and show the little people that their tax dollars aren’t completely wasted on their fancy new ARs.

  2. This is the second time in a week these walking-assistance devices have almost killed someone (here is the first).

    Time to ban these dangerous things for crying out loud – there’s nothing in the Constitution protecting the right to use a cane or walking stick.

  5. We must require all cane buyers to pass a criminal and mental health test. Buyers must be fingerprinted, photographed, and the cane registered with the local police.

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