Detroit Police Shut Down I-96 for Half Naked Woman Wielding a Machete

Detroit police were able to diffuse a dangerous situation Saturday (2/25) as a half-naked woman was pointing a machete at passersby on I-96.

Mental Health Crisis Led to the Incident on I-96

Detroit Police Chief James White outlined the situation in this video Tuesday afternoon, saying the woman was experiencing a mental health crisis when she began acting erratically.

"We had a female who was traveling on the freeway, [she] decided to pull her vehicle over, she exited her vehicle on the freeway, disrobed, and had a machete in her hand," White said at the news conference. "The officers, once again with the assistance of the Michigan State Police who shut down the freeway for us, created a safe environment for her to go through her episode."

Video of the incident was blurred, as the woman was naked from the waist down. White noted that the woman eventually dropped the machete and was detained by the officers. She was then taken to Henry Ford hospital for evaluation.

White said it's another example of good police work where officers were able to get a citizen the help that was needed.

Mental Health Incidents on the Rise

The police chief noted that Detroit police have responded to roughly 2,000 mental health crisis calls since the beginning of the year.

“But the reality of it is, we’re police, we’re not mental health professionals and we certainly want folks like this to get the help that they need so that the frequency of these encounters are lessened and we don’t have to do this,” he said.