PLYMOUTH – Following a 13-hour standoff with police Thursday, an armed man who had threatened to kill himself surrendered peacefully.
The Chenango County Sheriff’s Office responded to 911 domestic disturbance call at around 9:15 p.m. Wednesday from a woman claiming her boyfriend held a .22 caliber rifle to his head and was threatening suicide.
“This individual was recently discharged from the military and was having relationship problems with his girlfriend, who suffers from medical issues,” said Chenango County Sheriff Ernest Cutting Jr.
When deputies arrived on the scene, the girlfriend and an unknown number of children left the residence. When police attempted to approach the home to contact the man, he emerged holding the gun to his head.
“Initially the subject had barricaded himself inside his home armed with a .22 caliber rifle and made threatening gestures to approaching officers – he said he’d kill himself if they tried to come inside,” said Undersheriff James Lloyd.
Police said they began negotiations with the man over the telephone, but he then decided to cut off communication.
Deputies stationed themselves outside the home in frigid temperatures and waited for about seven hours. At daybreak, police kicked in the locked front door so they could force the man into talking with negotiators, the sheriff said.
“Basically we started a personal dialogue. The incident had been going on for a long time, so officers decided to kick in the door. When they did, they saw the man in his kitchen with gun held under his chin,” said Cutting.
“Over the phone it’s easy for a subject to avoid a conversation, but when people are standing right there talking to you, you can’t avoid interaction. For our safety, we want to observe what he’s doing and create a personal dialogue with him. It helps create an awareness that he’s dealing with real people and real lives, including his own,” explained Cutting.
Lloyd reported the Sheriff’s Office’s negotiator, Lt. Richard Cobb, who completed FBI negotiation training 18 months ago, was assisted by Sgt. Andrew Wheatly. The two men, supported by three other officers, held discussions with the man and after two and a half hours, he put down his weapon and surrendered at 10:07 a.m. Thursday.
“At no time did he point a gun at the officers,” said Cutting. He also noted the man did not use any violence against another person during the standoff or the domestic dispute.
No criminal charges have been filed and police have declined to identify the man or the home’s location, saying they were currently treating the situation as a mental health incident.
“Our only immediate goal to this situation was getting him to surrender without anyone getting hurt and that’s what was accomplished. Now we’re going back and looking at all the details and the histories involved, to determine any possible violations of law,” said Lloyd. “It appears this individual has mental health related issues, but obviously being involved in a standoff with law enforcement is a very serious event and all aspects of the incident will be closely examined,” he said.
The man was taken into custody and transported to Binghamton General Hospital for a mental health evaluation.
The Plymouth Fire Department and Rescue Squad and the Norwich Ambulance were placed on standby during the incident.
“Fortunately officers have been trained in dealing with emotionally disturbed people in situations like this,” said Cutting. “Thankfully this incident ended without anyone getting hurt. To me, that’s as good as it gets.”