By Kirk Mitchell, The Denver Post
A string of Christmas lights was wrapped around the bare chest of a 49-year-old man who was coated in his own blood.
The man was slashing himself in the arms, neck and chest late Thursday, threatening to kill himself and police if they approached.
Sgt. Dan O’Shea tried to use a Taser to stop the man, but when that failed, he tackled the suspect and arrested him.
Authorities believe O’Shea saved the man’s life.
"(O’Shea) showed some courage knowing the man could have stabbed him and the other officer,” Denver police spokesman Sonny Jackson said.
The man was taken to Denver Health Medical Center, where he will be held and evaluated for 72 hours, officials say. No criminal charges are expected.
O’Shea could not be reached for comment Friday. He and another officer arrived at the apartment complex at 1955 Arapahoe St. after receiving a report of a man screaming and smashing things, said John White, Denver police spokesman.
When the officers knocked on the man’s apartment door, he yelled that he was stabbing himself and was going to bleed to death.
He threatened to attack police if they entered the apartment, White said.
The officers heard glass and furniture breaking inside and smashed the door down, he said. The shirtless man was armed with two large kitchen knives.
O’Shea and his partner tried to get the man to drop the knives, but he continued to cut his chest, arms and neck, White said. The officers called for a crisis intervention officer.
But everything was happening too fast.
The man thrust both knives into the living room wall and ran into the kitchen, White said.
O’Shea followed him and saw him opening a cabinet drawer and removing another large knife.
O’Shea fired his Taser at the man, but the probes missed. O’Shea then charged into the distracted man and knocked him to the floor, White said.
As a SWAT team member, O’Shea was one of the first to respond to Columbine High School during the shootings in April 1999. The family of Daniel Rohrbough accused O’Shea of shooting the student as he fled the school. O’Shea was later cleared.