Man Upset Over Water In Garage Sparks Standoff In Monessen

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MONESSEN (KDKA) -- For Monessen Police, it was the worst of situations -- a man on Knox Street acting erratically and threatening violence.

"The actor was frustrated with the lack of health care that he was receiving. He was frustrated with the direction that society was going in general, and he was displeased with what was going on in his life," Chief James Smith told KDKA's Ross Guidotti.

The man was 49-year-old Joseph Selinger III. Not only was he angry, police say he was holding a hunting rifle.

Investigators say the entire incident apparently started over a problem at Selinger's 1st Street home.

"It started with water going into his garage from a neighbor's garage," Smith said.

According to the Monessen Police chief, his officers tried to calm Selinger down, but he would have none of it. Smith said Selinger was "daring, taunting and begging" the police to shoot him.

With an armed man in the middle of a neighbor's law, waiting for a SWAT team to assemble wasn't an option. The officers, with drawn weapons but trained to deal with suicide-by-cop situations, decided to end the issue hopefully without bloodshed, but they wouldn't get a second chance if it went wrong.

As one officer approached from the front, trying to calm Selinger down, another quietly crept up from behind. Investigators say in the blink of an eye, the officer blindsided, disarmed and took Selinger into custody. It was over with no shots fired.

"Two things that any police officer, let alone a chief, never want to have to deal with -- the death of a police officer or a police officer taking someone's life in the line of duty. We're not here to shoot people. We're here to protect people. We're here to serve," Selinger said.

Selinger is undergoing a psychiatric evaluation. Criminal charges are pending.