SOUTH PORTLAND — A man in a Broadway apartment building set himself on fire and was taken to Maine Medical Center in Portland with non-life-threatening injuries after a standoff with police that lasted more than five hours Monday.

The Police Department received a call about a man inside 344 Broadway who had been “experiencing mental health issues and was in crisis” just before 3 p.m. Monday, according to a May 10 press release from Sgt. Steve Webster. 

When officers arrived, they couldn’t make contact with the man, and the Southern Maine Regional SWAT team was called. A perimeter was established around the building and portions of Broadway were closed for almost six hours. 

Officers stormed the apartment around 9 p.m., when the man set himself on fire. He was taken into protective custody and transported to MMC, where he was treated for his injuries and will be evaluated by psychiatric staff, Webster said.

The man’s identity was not released because he was “clearly in crisis,” he did not commit a crime, and his family had not been informed about the situation, Webster said. 


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