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Here's how it all happened.
At about 10:40 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 9, the Darien Police Department says it was notified by a local medical group on Old Kings Highway North that a male patient, arriving and preparing for a scheduled routine physical, was observed in the office in possession of a handgun.
"Despite what has been reported by various news outlets thus far, the accurate information is that there was no 'brandishing' of this handgun by the male patient," Darien Police said in a statement.
The patient had already completed his physical and left the office when the initial report was made to the police. Officers were responding to the Medical Group in order to meet with the staff to determine exactly what had transpired with the patient, said police.
Once it was confirmed that the patient had already left the office and had possibly been driving a white, Jeep-like vehicle, officers began checking the surrounding area.
Within minutes, a white Jeep was observed in the Shell gas station on Boston Post Road at Sedgewick Avenue in Darien. The license plate of the vehicle was checked by officers and it was found to be listed as a stolen vehicle, police said.
As the vehicle started to leave the pumps, it was stopped by Darien officers. Felony motor vehicle stop procedures were utilized where two Darien officers "did un-holster and had their duty weapons in hand," police said.
The operator, quickly identified as Cashman, 52, a Norwalk resident, was fully cooperative with all commands and instructions given by the officers conducting the stop and the encounter was "quickly, efficiently and properly de-escalated," said police.
"It was also quickly determined that Cashman was the true owner of the vehicle," Darien Police Department Capt. Don Anderson said.
The NYPD had found the vehicle abandoned in the Bronx and returned it to Cashman earlier this week, the New York Post reported.
Cashman was driving the Jeep Wrangler from Yankee Stadium to the Norwalk Police Department to have it processed for evidence when he stopped at the gas station, the Post said.
"No force of any type was actually used by officers," Anderson said. "Cashman noted the professionalism and obvious training of the involved officers who were able to successfully bring this incident to the proper conclusion."
Cashman was then escorted with his vehicle to the Norwalk Police Headquarters, Anderson said.
Darien officers then responded to a residence in Norwalk and made contact with the male patient from the doctor’s office. It was confirmed that he does in fact possess a valid pistol carry permit and was unaware that he had caused any alarm in the office while there undergoing his physical examination.
"These two intertwined incidents are clearly indicative of what police officers are often confronted with on a regular basis," Anderson said. "These incidents were fortunately brought to a completely safe and successful conclusion by the proper application of professional police actions coupled with the full cooperation of the subjects involved."
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