On the serene morning of June 27, El Paso County Sheriff's Office deputies were summoned to a scene of unambiguous chaos. Reports confirmed an individual later identified as 36-year-old David Whitcomb had inflicted property damage over $2,000 during a mental health episode. This Skirmish with stability unfolded on the calm streets of Air Lane in the Cimarron Hills district of El Paso County, according to the El Paso County Sheriff's Office.
Deputies arrived to discover that Whitcomb had vacated the premises, but their familiarity with him was not new; Whitcomb had previously been arrested on June 21 on felony menacing charges, where knives were his companions in arms, and cooperation with authorities found itself absent, as reported by the El Paso County Sheriff's Office.
At 8:41 a.m. on the same day, a separate incident caught the attention of dispatch after a report of a man bathing in a rain-filled sinkhole was received; the man matched Whitcomb's description. Located along Preble Drive, deputies encountered Whitcomb, who, surrounded by the embrace of water, defied directives. A perimeter established securely around him, deputies used a vehicle's PA system to inform Whitcomb of his imminent arrest, to which he responded with vehement reluctance and shoutings of non-compliance.
In an attempt to diffuse the tension, less-lethal pepper ball rounds were deployed, but failed to bring resolution. Following Whitcomb's attempted escape and a physical altercation that saw both parties submerged, deputies managed to take him into custody without further incident or serious injury. For his actions against the fabric of the community and its property, Whitcomb was presented with a litany of charges, including attempted second-degree burglary and resisting arrest, as outlined by the El Paso County Sheriff's Office.
