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SALT LAKE CITY — The intensive care unit at Salt Lake Regional Medical Center was evacuated Thursday night while officers negotiated with a man armed with a club who had barricaded himself in a room, police said.
The 25-year-old man arrived at the hospital, 1050 E. South Temple, around 7 p.m. seeking medical help, said Salt Lake police detective Cody Lougy. The man appeared to be high on drugs, was "very, very agitated" and started to fight hospital workers, he said.
The man got away from hospital staff and barricaded himself inside a second-story room typically used for families of patients to meet in, according to Lougy. When police arrived, patients in the ICU, which is housed on that floor, had to be moved to other parts of the hospital as a precaution.
Police confirmed around 9:30 p.m. that the man had been taken into custody. Before that, he could be heard damaging the room, Lougy said. He also allegedly broke out a window to the outside of the hospital.
Officers were concerned the man might jump out of the broken window, which is about 25 to 30 feet above ground level, the detective said.
The man, whose name was not immediately released, was treated for minor injuries. No one else was injured during the ordeal. The hospital's emergency room remained open throughout the episode.
