Police ID man who died after apparent mental health episode at home off Telegraph Road

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A man suffering from an apparent mental and/or medical crisis became unresponsive Tuesday afternoon after police responded to call from a home near Telegraph Road, and he was later pronounced dead at a local hospital, according to the Fairfax County Police.

Christopher Paul was transported to Inova Alexandria Hospital after police say he lost consciousness during the incident at a home in the 4300 block of Mission Court (see map), Fairfax County Police Chief Edwin Roessler said at a press conference Wednesday.

Police were initially dispatched to the address around 4:30 p.m. for a reported overdose, Roessler said. Initial police reports on social media had characterized the incident a being domestic in nature, but Roessler said that was incorrect — a family member had been struck in the head during Paul’s mental or medical episode.

Two officers from the Franconia District station were the first to arrive, and found that Paul was trying to harm himself, according to Roessler. T

“The first two officers found Mr. Paul experiencing a medical and/or mental health episode.” Roessler said. “The officers used their crisis intervention training in order to help de-escalate Mr. Paul’s behavior as he was actively trying to harm himself.”

At one point Paul threw himself on the ground, the officers moved in to restrain him, using handcuffs and attaching a nylon restraining device to his legs. Once Paul was under control, medics from the Fairfax Fire and Rescue Department who were staged outside were brought in to treat him.

At some point during the incident, Paul became unresponsive and CPR was performed, police said. Roesller said he could not provide an exact timeline at this point in the investigation.

While the investigation is ongoing, Roessler said no weapons were used by officers during the course of restraining Paul.

“At this time … with a level of confidence I can say that no physical use of force was used against Mr. Paul, nor were any other type of weapons used,” Roessler said.

One of the officers who initially responded to the scene had a body camera that recorded the incident, and Roessler said that eventually that footage will be released.

“We will be as transparent as possible as the investigation progresses, and I will fully hold us accountable,” Roessler said.

The six officers who were involved at the scene are on administrative leave pending the criminal and administrative investigations.