Flagler County Sheriff’s Office deputies used de-escalation techniques to safely secure a Palm Coast man who pointed what appeared to be a handgun at them during a mental health crisis that spanned several days and involved dozens of calls to emergency services.
The series of incidents began Saturday, February 7, 2026, when Keith McCabe, 55, of Palm Coast, repeatedly contacted 911 and the non-emergency line, making paranoid and erratic statements. He demanded a large law enforcement response to his home on Clearview Court North, but refused to cooperate when deputies arrived.
Deputies found McCabe in his front yard engaged in a loud verbal argument with someone who did not exist. He exhibited extreme paranoia, claiming deputies were there to shoot his poodle and that they would cause him to have a heart attack.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, deputies have responded to McCabe’s residence multiple times over the years for calls involving neighborhood disputes and reports of erratic behavior. Neighbors have expressed ongoing concerns about the escalating nature of his paranoid behavior.
On the morning of February 8, deputies returned and arrested McCabe after he continued to call 911, making what authorities described as nonsensical accusations and erratic statements. In his calls to 911 operators, he claimed his mother was being held hostage, that a delivery driver had stolen his nonlethal handgun, that he would die of a heart attack before sunrise, and requested SWAT and a helicopter be sent to his location.
In the week leading up to his arrest, McCabe placed 15 calls to 911 and 23 calls to the non-emergency line from two different phone numbers.
Deputies arrested McCabe for obstruction without violence, and additional information was forwarded to the State Attorney’s Office for review regarding misuse of the 911 system. At that time, he did not meet the criteria for involuntary evaluation under Florida’s Baker Act.
McCabe was transported to the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility and released that evening on a $500 bond.
Five hours after his release, McCabe called the non-emergency number to complain about being arrested and requested to speak with a supervisor. Deputies and a supervisor responded to his home, but McCabe did not want to speak with them. Instead, he went inside and called 911, requesting state police, the FBI, and the governor’s mansion.
The situation escalated on Monday, February 9, when deputies responded again after neighbors reported McCabe acting erratically, screaming, and appearing to speak to people who were not present. Deputies went to McCabe’s door to speak with him.
As deputies asked him to exit the residence, McCabe briefly walked back inside. He then returned to the entryway, pointing what appeared to be a black handgun at deputies. Deputies drew their firearms, and McCabe immediately dropped the item and ran back into the home.
After half an hour of continued communication and de-escalation efforts, deputies were able to get McCabe to sit in the rear lanai area. While speaking with deputies, he continued to make paranoid and erratic statements and expressed suicidal intentions before jumping into a pool. Deputies entered the lanai and issued verbal commands. McCabe exited the pool, and deputies secured him in handcuffs.
The item McCabe pointed at deputies was later identified as a Byrna SD Kinetic Launcher, a .68 caliber air pistol powered by a CO2 canister. The manufacturer describes the device as “THE UN-GUN” because it “looks like a gun, performs like a gun, but is designed to be non-lethal.”
McCabe later told deputies he had not slept in several days. His family stated he has no diagnosis of mental health illness or history of drug use.
Sheriff Rick Staly praised his deputies for their handling of the dangerous situation. “This is exactly why we invest so much time in training de-escalation and crisis response,” Staly said. “Our deputies stayed patient, created time, used their rapport, and kept communicating until they could safely take him into custody. This situation could have quickly escalated to a deputy-involved shooting, but because of their training, it did not. I’m very proud of our deputies for de-escalating this incident and safely taking him into custody.”
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