Police arrested a 26-year-old University Place man on suspicion of assault following an incident that blocked traffic on the eastbound Narrows Bridge for four hours late Saturday, July 18.
The man was experiencing an apparent mental health crisis and threatened suicide. But after police told him they intended to detain him under the state Involuntary Treatment Act, he pointed a firearm at them, according to charging documents.
The incident began around 8:30 p.m. Saturday, when officers from the Washington State Patrol, Tacoma Police Department and Gig Harbor Police Department responded to a report of a suicidal subject approaching the eastbound Narrows Bridge.
Officers blocked traffic on the bridge and attempted to negotiate with the 26-year-old. When they told him they would take him into custody, however, he produced a firearm…