A Penticton Mountie’s training prevented a mental health warrant from becoming much worse on Saturday, May 21.

RCMP were called to execute a Form 4 Warrant issued by a physician for a Penticton resident in order to take them to the hospital for treatment.

The man resisted being taken and began to fight the officers, during which he made repeated attempts to grab one officer’s service pistol.

“During this call for service the individual was extremely combative,” said Const. Dayne Lyons, media liaison for Penticton RCMP. “At no point did the male un-holster the pistol. The officer was able to keep his pistol secure the entire time.”

Four officers in total were needed to subdue the man. There were no injuries to officers nor to the individual.

READ MORE: Penticton pushes for provincially funded mental health worker to ride with RCMP

Penticton RCMP respond to twice as many calls as Kelowna, Kamloops or Vernon, with the number of calls for mental health and addiction-related issues going up year over year.

The Penticton RCMP’s release states that they recognize that while police are often engaged, the solution to mental health-related issues requires a greater societal response.

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