RUMFORD – A noisy, tense six-hour police standoff on Plymouth Street early Friday morning ended without injury when a Colorado man was taken into custody.
No charges are expected to be filed against the 26-year-old man from Vail, Colo., who was transported to Rumford Hospital for evaluation, although police are conducting a routine drug and alcohol check, said Chief Timothy Bourassa.
The drama began at 12:45 a.m. when police received an anonymous call urging them to check the welfare of a Plymouth Street resident who was reportedly hallucinating and breaking bottles, Bourassa said.
Officers Douglas Maifeld and Mark Cayer were the first to arrive.
“When my officers responded, he was taking windows out of the third floor with an iron pipe or bat,” Bourassa said Friday morning. “Apparently, they said something to him and he said he had a bomb in the house and was armed with knives.”
Upon learning this, shift Sgt. Stacy Carter requested mutual aid from Mexico, Dixfield and Oxford County police then called in Bourassa, Detective Lt. Wayne Gallant and the Maine State Police Tactical Team.
By 1:15 a.m., the standoff began when about 30 police officers converged on the area, surrounding the residence and blocking off area streets.
With two State Police negotiators sequestered at the police station, police soon contacted the man’s sister and subsequently his mother.
“We interviewed his family to learn what was in the house and what condition he was in because he had access to knives and a bat or metal pipe,” Bourassa said.
Based on the information, “we had feelings that he didn’t have a bomb nor did he know how to make one,” he added, noting no bomb was found after the standoff ended.
Discussions then ensued with the district attorney’s office, Rumford Hospital officials, and Maine Department of Human Services personnel about getting an arrest or search warrant so police could legally enter the building.
“The house belongs to the family and unless someone complains, we can’t (enter or) charge him with anything. We talked to the family and his mother said she wanted him charged so we could get an arrest warrant and go in. But, through surveillance with the Tactical Team, they talked him into coming down to the garage at 7:30 a.m. and he was taken into custody,” Bourassa said.
During the standoff, the man yelled obscenities at police and “threw everything but the kitchen sink out the windows at them. He threw chairs, bottles, big glass bricks and at one point he was yarding blades from a skill saw like Frisbees. One saw blade missed an officer but hit a cruiser. One of those things can kill a person,” he added.
Med-Care Ambulance, which was on standby along with Rumford firefighters during the situation, transported the man to Rumford Hospital.
Responding local officers included Rumford’s James Bernard and Roy Hodsdon, who as of noon, were still with the man at Rumford Hospital, Mike Richard of Mexico and Mark Dow of Dixfield.
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