Thurston Co. deputies use force to detain man in crisis Thursday, Sheriff says
Thurston County deputies used force to detain a man accused of being in a “state of hyperactive delirium” Thursday night, Sheriff Derek Sanders said in a Friday morning Facebook post.
The incident occurred before 9:30 p.m. at a property in the Grand Mound area, according to the post and accompanying body camera footage. Sanders alleged the man entered a “random backyard” where he removed all his clothes, “armed” himself with a large stick and struck a fence and shed with said stick. Sanders himself was among those at the scene.
“The individual in crisis was extremely incoherent and could not be reasoned with,” Sanders said. “Deputies attempted to talk with the man for nearly an hour with no success.”
The Sheriff’s Office Community Outreach Utilization Team (SCOUT), a unit that launched about four years ago to handle mental health calls, responded to the scene.
However, the team was “unsuccessful in getting through to the man,” Sanders said. The man allegedly dug in the ground, ate mud and spread the mud over his body as rain began to pour and temperatures dropped.
In response, the Sheriff and his deputies decided to pin the man onto the ground with a shield and separate him from the large stick.
“The plan was successful, and he was handcuffed despite efforts to bite, pinch, and grab deputies,” Sanders said.
Deputies then loaded the man onto a gurney to be treated by medics, but Sanders said his mental state continued to deteriorate. He allegedly told medics he took unspecified drugs earlier in the day.
“Medics ended up having to use multiple doses of sedatives before this individual was safe enough to transport as he tried to bite medics,” Sanders said.
Medics transported the man to a hospital where he was involuntarily committed, meaning he was treated for a mental health condition against his will. In his post, Sanders called the man a danger to himself, others and property.
“Calls like this are extremely challenging for law enforcement,” Sanders said. “While we do not want to use force on individuals in crisis, we also cannot stand in the rain all night long tying up deputies and medics for hours on end.”
This story was originally published May 15, 2026 at 8:36 AM.
