POLICE SAY TRAINING, EXPERIENCE PAID OFF IN STAND-OFF

By Ray King/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF

Countless hours of training and the experience of a veteran detective were both factors in ending an almost 40-minute standoff near the emergency room entrance to Jefferson Regional Medical Center on Friday with an armed man who was reportedly threatening to kill himself, police said Saturday.

The man, who police have not identified, was taken into custody after Lt. Terry Hopson, a longtime acquaintance of the man, talked him into putting down the gun that he had pointed at his head and stomach a number of times during the incident.

“All our investigators, crisis negotiators and the SWAT team have received extensive training in both verbal and non-verbal communication, and Lt. Hopson, in addition to his formal education, has had more than 20 years of experience in how to de-escalate situations from interviewing hundreds of suspects,” Lt. Bob Rawlinson said Saturday.

“It just showed how important continuing education and training can be because a senior officer like Lt. Hopson, or the newest recruit on the department can be faced with a situation like that at any time, and training can make the difference in how they react to it,” Rawlinson said.

The incident began just before noon Friday when the man attempted to enter the hospital after driving his truck to the entrance, but was stopped by an off-duty police officer, Sgt. Rowland Dorman, who was working security.

“The security officer was very quick to prevent that man from entering the hospital,” said Lisa Rowland, a spokeswoman for JRMC.

After he was denied entry, the man stood outside near the helicopter pad, sitting down then standing and pointing the gun at his head, while officers and sheriff’s deputies responded to the scene, sealed off the area, and began trying to talk to the man.

On Friday, Sgt. Richard Davies said Traffic Officer Jim Tucker was among the first to arrive and to talk to the man, “who appeared to be distressed about some medical condition.”

“Reportedly, he had recently received information about a serious or possibly life-threatening condition and that contributed to his despondency and perpetuated what happened,” Rawlinson said. “We really believe that this individual was crying out for help, even if he didn’t realize it at the time, and that’s what our officers were there to try and do. To help him, and at the same time, ensure that no one got hurt.”

After Hopson talked the man into putting the gun down, police and sheriff’s deputies converged from all sides, pinned the man to the ground, then strapped him to a gurney and took him inside the hospital.

“This was a perfect example of two agencies coming together for a common cause and deal with a potentially dangerous situation in such a way that there were no shots fired, and no one got hurt,” Rawlinson said.

Rowland said the hospital moved patients near the emergency room doors and heliport and ambulances were re-routed to an alternate entrance during the almost 40-minute incident.

Davies declined to identify the man Friday, and Rawlinson repeated that position Saturday, saying that the man had not been arrested, and no charges filed against him.