Standoffs, SWAT call-outs spike in January

Multiple people have kept law enforcement at bay this month in prolonged standoffs in neighborhoods across the Miami Valley and Southwest Ohio.

Special Weapons and Tactical units have been deployed to at least six standoffs so far this month. In most cases the subjects refusing police orders were arrested, but in at least one instance, no one was found inside the home.

6 standoffs in January

1. This morning a man was taken into custody after keeping Dayton officers out of an apartment building on Bancroft Street. Nearby apartments were evacuated as police set up a perimeter. The suspect was believed armed with a 9 mm handgun and was wanted for allegedly kicking in a door in a separate incident. The suspect was taken into custody after approximately two hours of refusing police orders to surrender.

>>> Suspect in Dayton SWAT standoff taken into custody

2. On Monday, three men were arrested after a standoff that lasted several hours at a home in Greenville. Darke County deputies attempted to serve a warrant in a stolen firearms investigation and the suspects refused to allow officers inside on 12th Street. The county’s special response team entered the home after deploying tactical gas and made the arrests. Others who were in the home during the incident were not arrested.

>>> 3 men arrested after standoff in Greenville

3. Four people were arrested after a standoff on Elsmere Avenue in Dayton and the incident was broadcast in a Facebook Live session from inside the home. Police arrived with a warrant to search the apartment after getting a report of a suspicious vehicle being involved in a burglary. In the Facebook Live video, you see the suspects walking throughout the home and you can hear police banging on the door. One suspect can be heard saying “Told you, we’re not leaving.”

Credit: Wayne Baker

Credit: Wayne Baker

>>> 4 jailed suspects did Facebook Live during standoff in Dayton

4. Piqua SWAT officers took a man into custody following a standoff at an apartment on Park Avenue. The man was wanted for allegedly using nunchucks in an attack on a neighbor who was fighting with his girlfriend. The suspect was a self-described “sovereign citizen” who believes he is not subject to the nation’s laws.

>>> Nunchucks assault suspect arraigned in Miami County court

5. A SWAT unit with the Butler County Sheriff’s Office did not find anyone inside a Pater Avenue home in Fairfield Twp. after a standoff that lasted hours on Sunday evening. Believing a hostage was being held against her will during what was described as a domestic incident, the officers used a concussion grenade before busting into the home. The suspect was arrested days later.

Credit: Jake Ryle/WCPO

Credit: Jake Ryle/WCPO

>>> Hostage report leads Fairfield Twp. to call SWAT team

6. The previous Sunday, Butler County SWAT officers responded to a standoff in Liberty Twp. Authorities said a 10-year-old boy was held at the home against his will for nearly 30 hours. The suspect was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping, felonious assault and inducing panic.

>>> Suspect ID'd in Liberty Twp. standoff

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