Plain-clothes and uniformed officers kept watch as the man sat talking with a counselor from the university.
Photo courtesy of Joe Amditis
A 46-year-old man from Cedar Grove, New Jersey suffered from a mental health crisis in front of College Hall on Wednesday morning. University Police along with Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) gave him on-the-spot counseling, then assisted him to the hospital.
Erika Bleiberg, Interim Media Relations Director, confirmed that the man was neither a student nor faculty member of Montclair State University.
Joe Amditis, Coordinator of the Center for Cooperative Media, said that, when he arrived for a morning meeting in Morehead Hall around 8:15 a.m., he was alerted to some commotion taking place outside the building. When he arrived at the green with his camera, he said that he saw a “white gentleman slouched over, with his hands crossed over his chest sitting on a bench.” Amditis said that cops immediately surrounded the scene and wouldn’t let anyone near the man or the counselor sitting with him.
According to Captain Kieran Barrett of the University Police, the man agreed to come to police headquarters and speak with the CAPS counselor. The Cedar Grove resident was eventually transferred to East Orange General Hospital for evaluation.
Barrett also added that, “at no time was [the man] a threat to the community,” and no charges were placed on the individual at the time. The man was placed in protective custody until he was transferred to the hospital in order to ensure his safety and the safety of others.
