A Fredericton man says city police swarmed his car, and held him at gunpoint with an assault rifle because he used the word "suicide" while on the phone with the Canada Revenue Agency.

Jose Serrano, 47, said he was on the phone with a CRA agent in his driveway around 2 p.m. on Aug. 26 when he told the agent that repeated calls for money could lead them to suicide.

Moments later Fredericton police officers pulled him from his parked car at gun-point and arrested him.

"I thought they were going to kill me," said Serrano, who was very emotional when describing his encounter with police.

"The first thing I saw was an assault rifle through the glass pointed right at me."

Serrano said he was then pulled from his car parked front of his home, shoved into the ground, handcuffed, arrested and taken to hospital for evaluation.

He said his cellphone was broken and his home searched during the ordeal.

"I am not suicidal, I did not say I was suicidal," said Serrano.

"That was embarrassing to be arrested by police for something I didn't do, like a criminal."

Jose Serrano says Fredericton police swarmed his car in his driveway with guns drawn while still on the phone with the CRA for mentioning the word 'suicide.' (Shane Fowler/CBC) Serrano filed a complaint with the Fredericton Police Department on Aug. 27.

On Sept. 1, Serrano received a letter from the chief of police stating an investigation into the incident has been completed and closed.

Fredericton Police Chief Leanne Fitch said in the letter that officers handled the incident appropriately and "in accordance with policy and procedure."

The letter from Fitch to Serrano details information from the report passed onto responding police officers from CRA.

The letter alleges that Serrano had been threatening suicide because of a custody battle.

"He has already spoken to a pastor and made peace with himself," the letter said.

"He stated if he becomes aware that police are en route he will kill himself before police show up. He stated he has all the steps in place to do it. He states if he smells police coming he will do it. He has training to do it."

Serrano denies saying what was included in the police report.

Police decline interview

Fredericton Police Chief Leanne Fitch said in a letter to Serrano that officers handled the situation according to policy. (CBC) Fredericton Police declined to be interviewed by CBC News.

CBC News requested details on how Serrano could go about obtaining an audio recording of the exchange between himself and the CRA agent, but were told they did not exist.

"These telephone conversations are not recorded," said Jeffrey Lansing, spokesperson for the CRA.

"Consequently, a taxpayer cannot obtain an audio recording of a conversation that occurred with a Canada Revenue Agency collection agent."

Serrano said he pays $230 a month to the CRA and owes around $4,000 in total.

He said he cannot pay the entire bill at once, which is what he said the federal agency was demanding.

"They wanted me to go to the bank, they wanted me to make a loan and they wanted me to do anything else, to loan money and I say I cannot do that."

Serrano said he would not kill himself over the dispute over his taxes.

"If I was suicidal, like they say, I would let them kill me right there," said Serrano.

"That's not the way to approach somebody that is suicidal."

Armed approach, wrong approach

Mark Henick, a mental health advocate, said using guns in response those in a mental crisis can only escalate an already tense situations. (Mark Henick/Twitter) Mental health experts are firmly against any use of weapons, or show of force, by police when dealing with those threatening suicide.

Steve Lurie, the executive director of the Canadian Mental Health Association in Toronto, said he doesn't think the Fredericton police used the proper response in dealing with Serrano.

"There are a number of inquests in this province where police have not used de-escalation techniques to provide a proper response," he said.

Lurie said he believes responses to suicide threats and those in crisis should be handled by mobile crisis teams instead of police in many cases.

Fredericton does have mobile crisis services provided by Horizon Heath, but they were not used in this case.

Mark Henick, a mental health advocate, said he agrees with Lurie's assessment that the Fredericton police mishandled the Serrano incident.

"It is absolutely the wrong way to go about responding to this type of thing," Henick said.

"If somebody is in crisis, the last thing you want to do is escalate the crisis. And I can't possibly think of anything more escalating then having a gun drawn on you."

Henick himself dealt with his own suicide attempts as a teenager. He now travels the country working on policies and prevention programs.

"If you're already thinking about death, then what the heck is a gun going to do?" said Henick.

"It's going to actually bring you closer to that point. It's going to isolate you more. It's going to make you more afraid. When people are suicidal, they are usually scared and people don't often know that. They are already feeling vulnerable and hurt. So it certainly doesn't help."

Alycia Bartlett, a spokesperson for the Fredericton police, said officers, including those who responded to Serrano's house, have had several training courses on mental health.

"For 2017, we have flagged de-escalation technique advance training in the budget for all members," wrote Bartlett.