Police use de-escalation to stop stabbing threat at Roseville mall

A scary situation unfolded when a man threatened people at Rosedale Center Mall with a knife, Luckily, Roseville police safely intervened, thanks to their focus on crisis intervention training.

Saturday night around 5:30 p.m., police responded to reports that 25-year-old Chandler Gaddey was threatening President Trump supporters inside the mall near a jewelry store.

"If any patron had voted or supported him, he wanted to know so he could 'cut their throats,'" said Lt. Lorne Rosand of the Roseville Police Department.

It was a scary reminder of situation just this past September when a man injured 10 people at a St. Cloud mall.

However, it's these types of crises for which officers train.

Mall security at Rosedale Center tracked the man through surveillance cameras, which captured him staggering along the mall sidewalk.

Roseville police stopped him and his friend outside a crowded Granite City restaurant.

But the man refused to follow orders, pulling out an eight-inch knife.

"We have no idea who this individual is and what his plans are, thus: containment, negotiation, de-escalation and an arrest," said Rosand.

Officers formed a perimeter to prevent him from running into the restaurant or toward the theater.

The officers held firm and maintained communication with Gaddey, and he eventually threw the knife away.

Responders later took him to Hennepin County Medical Center.

"We’re just trying to negotiate with people. We have no desire to harm a soul, but you have to obey the officer’s orders," said Rosand.

Roseville police prepares for these moments - by the end of the year all officers will go through 40 hours of crisis intervention training.

"It was one of those moments we did the right thing, we got it done right and no one got hurt. Everyone’s going home tonight, and I know the citizens appreciated it," he said.

Charges are pending in the case.