Man taken to hospital after allegedly threatening to hurt people at park

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Police will pursue criminal charges after a man was seen allegedly threatening others and himself and vandalizing a park on Friday, according to the South Bend Police Department.

Early Friday afternoon, officers were called to Pulaski Park in the 1300 block of Huron Street for reports of a man acting erratically.

The man left the park before officers got there.

According to reports, the man later came back with what workers in the area believed was a knife.

The man was threatening to hurt himself and others, reports said.

Officers were called and the man locked himself in a park bathroom.

Police and a negotiator responded to the scene with a crisis intervention team on standby.

Officers were able to get in contact with the man and used less lethal force to detain him, according to reports. Police initially used a taser but when that was unsuccessful, they used a pepperball gun.

The man was taken to the hospital to be checked out.

He also allegedly vandalized the park.

The knife the man was seen with was found to be a putty knife, according to police.

When he is released from the hospital, police will pursue criminal mischief charges, reports said.

The scene was cleared by 2 p.m.