Police: Firefighter surrenders after SWAT standoff outside Atlanta Police Headquarters

ATLANTA - A SWAT standoff involving a firefighter, who police said was threatening to harm himself just outside of the Atlanta Police Headquarter downtown, came to a peaceful resolution Tuesday.

Officials tell FOX 5 News a SWAT team was called to the headquarters on 226 Peachtree Streets after reports of a possibly armed suicidal man in a nearby vehicle. When officers learned it was a firefighter who was in the vehicle with a weapon, they decided to close down nearby roadways and bring in their specialized team.

The SWAT team was brought in to assist their crisis negotiation team. Police said they were able to get in contact with the man.

“We requested our SWAT team to the area along with our crisis negotiators and so we secured the area, made sure everyone safe, and our crisis negotiations were actually able to make contact with him and he complied with their requests, came out of the vehicle, and was taken into custody without further incident,” said Sgt. John Chaffee with the Atlanta Police Department.

The man, who officials only identified as a firefighter, was taken into custody without incident and  taken to Grady Memorial Hospital for evaluation.

Atlanta fire officials said the man had been with their department for 20 years.

Police stress the man was never a threat to anyone and never said anything threatening to anyone else.

Pryor Street between Trinity Avenue and Garnett Street was shut down during the situation. It has since reopened.

In 2018, the number of firefighter suicides exceeded the rate of on-duty deaths by about 30 percent on average, according to the Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance. Officials with the organization said 2019 was the sixth year in a row where suicides outpaced all on-duty deaths.

Anyone who is feeling suicidal is asked to seek help such as calling the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.