AUSTINTOWN Stun gun quells standoff

AUSTINTOWN -- A 24-year-old Kirk Road man kept police at bay for 21/2 hours early today by holding a kitchen knife to his own throat.
Police eventually persuaded the man to drop the knife. He was then subdued with a stun gun and taken by ambulance to Forum Health Northside Medical Center for psychiatric evaluation.
The man's mother called police at 1 a.m. to report that he was waving a knife outside his home and threatening to kill himself. He had recently lost his job and was having problems with his girlfriend, she said. In addition, she said the man drank about 12 beers.
Escape: The man ran from police when they arrived, and they could not find him.
The man's mother called police again at 3 a.m. to say he was in the basement threatening to kill himself. When police arrived, the man had the knife pressed to his own throat and was talking to his girlfriend on the phone.
Police eventually asked the girlfriend to come from Niles to speak with the man. While they waited for her to arrive, they continued to negotiate with the man by phone. The man told police he had other knives in his possession.
Around 5:30 a.m., the man told police he would drop the knife if his girlfriend was brought into the basement. The police agreed, and the girlfriend was brought to the top of the basement stairs.
The man climbed the stairs, approached his girlfriend and put the knife down. Police then struck him with the stun gun.
Police say they used the stun gun after the man put the knife down because they were concerned he had other knives in the basement.