East Lyme ― When Police Chief Michael Finkelstein showed up at a Chesterfield Road location where first responders had been alerted to a man thought to be potentially suicidal and possibly armed, he was only doing what “any Good Samaritan should do,” Finkelstein’s attorney said Friday.

“He was not responding to a police call,” said John Nazzaro, whose client, facing domestic-abuse charges, has been on paid administrative leave for nearly 80 days.

Finkelstein’s presence at the Chesterfield Road incident a week ago, Aug. 16, prompted an emergency meeting of the Board of Police Commissioners, which took no action after discussing the matter in private Monday night.

On Friday, East Lyme police released the report of the incident, which says Finkelstein attempted to contact Officer Lindsay Cutillo as she was en route to the scene. Cutillo did not answer Finkelstein’s call, and a few seconds later received a text from Finkelstein informing her that the potentially suicidal man “was across from the (Cedar Ridge) golf course.”

Finkelstein then texted he did not see a gun, the report says.

“While surprised by Finkelstein’s contact it seemed apparent that Finkelstein was monitoring our radio communication and was in the area of the subject ...,” police Sgt. Paul Renshaw wrote in the report.

Renshaw arrived at the scene where Officers Cutillo and Taylor Desjardins and Detective William Turcotte already were speaking with the man, who was seated on a log alongside Chesterfield Road at the intersection with Irvingdell Place.

“I also observed Finkelstein momentarily as he was getting back into his vehicle, which was parked on (Irvingdell) Place ...,” Renshaw writes. “Finkelstein departed as I arrived, and I did not have any interaction with Finkelstein.”

Nazzaro said Finkelstein happened to be in the vicinity of Chesterfield Road when he learned of the potentially suicidal man “through public information,” not police communications. He declined to say what he meant by “public information.”

“He is in a town car where the police radio has been disabled,” Nazzaro said. “He learned of a male subject threatening to do himself harm. He happened to be driving by the location and saw the subject. He phoned into dispatch that he saw him ...”

According to Nazzaro, Finkelstein stopped at the scene and interacted with the man, never displaying a badge and never identifying himself as a police officer. Finkelstein remained at the scene and chatted with the man for several minutes until officers arrived.

“I want to dispel any inference that he’s running around the community acting in an official or unofficial capacity,” Nazzaro said of Finklestein. “He did what any Good Samaritan should do. He’s still a peace officer and he’s not going to turn a blind eye to something happening right in front of him.”

The police report indicates East Lyme dispatchers received the call regarding the possibly suicidal man at about 1:31 p.m. Aug. 16. The call came from Mobile Outreach, a service operated by the Southeastern Mental Health Authority, which was requesting a “well-being check” apparently based on information received from the man’s family.

Communication between Mobile Outreach and dispatchers can be accessed by the public.

The man told officers he was unarmed, which they confirmed, and said he had no intention of harming himself, the police report says. Mobile Outreach personnel interviewed the man at the scene and, at his request, he was taken to a shelter in New London.

Editor’s note: This version corrects the spelling of John Nazzaro’s last name.

b.hallenbeck@theday.com