Police standoff with armed man ends in city

A man with a gun who held off police early Thursday evening in Royal Oak is a sexual assault suspect in Ferndale.

No one was injured. Ferndale police said they went to do a welfare check on the man in the 3300 block of Cummings, southeast of 13 Mile and Greenfield roads in Royal Oak.

“We thought he might be suicidal,” said Ferndale police Lt. David Spellman.

Police said the man hid in the basement in an area near the stairs and had a handgun.

Ferndale and Royal Oak officers were at the house and an Oakland County Sheriff’s SWAT team was called.

There were three Royal Oak officers and a Ferndale officer there, said Police Chief Corrigan O’Donohue.

“They could see him under the stairs,” he said. “He had a gun and was threatening to kill himself. The officers took cover in the basement and tried to get him to surrender, but he wouldn’t give himself up.”

A SWAT team robot was sent into the house and determined the man was passed out.

“He was taken to Beaumont Hospital for symptoms of a drug overdose and he is in police custody,” Spellman said.

Ferndale police said they received a sexual assault complaint against the man on Wednesday.

“It’s still an open case,” Spellman said.

The man learned that he was a suspect after detectives got the case on Thursday, police said.