(WXYZ) — A Highland Park police officer chose a non-lethal device over his gun to disarm a woman who told officers she wanted them to kill her — and it worked.
Patrol officer Javom Odom was five minutes from the end of his shift when a call came in reporting a mentally ill, violent, armed person.
Watch Faraz's story in the video player below:
"When the call came out, mentally ill, violent, armed. So, I kind of get the hairs thinning up," Odom said.
Officers found the woman in an alley, knife in hand. Her mother had already told police the woman had been stabbing herself.
"As soon as she saw us pull up, she started yelling, like, oh my God, why would you do this? And then already with the information we got from the mother that she was stabbing herself, getting there, you can see the knife in her hand. You already know there's something going on," Odom said.
Officers worked to slow the situation down by keeping her talking.
"It's hard to talk to somebody with a knife in her hand that's in a crisis," Odom said.
That conversation took a critical turn when the woman made a statement that changed the entire encounter.
"Eventually she said she wasn't dropping it and that she wanted us to kill her. So from that statement alone, I wanted to end that as quick as possible," Odom said.
Rather than drawing his gun, Odom reached for a device called a BolaWrap — a non-lethal tool that fires a Kevlar cord designed to wrap around a person's body or legs, temporarily restricting their movement.
"As soon as the BolaWrap went off, she dropped the knife immediately. The next step is actually figure out now what's going on. And she was more than willing to talk to us," Odom said.
Once the knife was gone, Odom learned the crisis stemmed from an argument following the woman's birthday.
Investigator Everett Monroe of the Highland Park Police Department said verbal communication is the first and most critical tool officers use in de-escalation.
"Ninety-five percent of our calls in de-escalating mental health persons in crisis, you're using your mouthpiece. Before you get to any tool," Monroe said.
Monroe noted that a mental health crisis does not always come with a prior diagnosis.
"You can be in crisis based upon something that's happened in that moment. Maybe the loss of a loved one or someone who may be going through a divorce," Monroe said.
The department has an embedded clinician and Crisis Intervention Trained officers who can check back in with individuals following an encounter. Monroe said that follow-up approach is already making a difference.
"We've also seen a decline in calls for familiar faces, those who in the past we've gone five, six times a day to deal with the same person. We've seen a reduction in that," Monroe said.
When asked about the reason behind that reduction, Monroe pointed to the department's commitment to connecting people with the right resources.
"Because we're able to get those people the help that they need," Monroe said.
Highland Park resident Frances Hunt knows firsthand what that follow-up looks like. Last year, Hunt found herself in a family crisis of her own.
"The kids were in need of help. I went to get the grandkids," Hunt said.
Hunt's family member was experiencing depression and became angry after Hunt stepped in to care for the person's children.
"She felt that I was trying to take them away, and she called the police on me. Thank God when the police came, the police was able to analyze the situation, handle it, and also get the proper need that she needed. She needed help and I did too," Hunt said.
When asked what she was most grateful for, Hunt highlighted the department's mental health team.
"That they had the mental illness team to come in to guide her, to talk to her, to give some numbers for resources," Hunt said.
And the outreach did not end there.
"They followed up with her, kind of uplifted her," Hunt said.
For Odom, the work comes down to effective communication.
"The whole point is to help the person in crisis. And you have to be able to communicate effectively," Odom said.
Monroe offered a final reflection on what de-escalation truly means.
"Someone in a crisis lets them know that they're still a person and they're not a situation," Monroe said.
The Highland Park Police Department is one of 25 law enforcement agencies in Michigan that use the BolaWrap. After being hit by the device while reporting this story, I can confirm: it was a loud bang, but it did not hurt.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
