SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. (CNS)—Orange County Sheriff’s Department deputies, with help from a canine-unit dog, were able to safely take a suicidal man into custody on Nov. 19 in San Clemente.

Deputies were called to the 100 block of West Mariposa just after 10 a.m. regarding a knife-wielding man threatening to take his own life, said Orange County sheriff’s Sgt. Dennis Breckner. The caller was concerned the man, whose name was not released, intended to commit “suicide by cop.”

The 36-year-old man, who was standing in the middle of the street with the knife, was taken down just before 10:45 a.m., when he held the weapon up to his chest and the dog was unleashed, Breckner said.

The man was taken to an area hospital to be treated for a dog bite and given a psychological examination.