A pepper gas grenade brought a quick end to a standoff with an agitated Wheatland man armed with a hatchet Monday evening.
A neighbor called 911 to report the man, who is in custody but isn’t yet being identified, was armed with a weapon and threatening a female at a home in the 500 block of 10th Street, Wheatland Police Chief Bradley Otte told Cowboy State Daily.
“The original call came in that the person had a hammer,” Otte said. “We learned once on scene it was a hatchet.”
That 911 call came in at 5:07 p.m., and when Wheatland police and the Platte County Sheriff’s Office responded, the man continued to make threats against the female in the home and law enforcement, Otte said.
“After making threats to the victim, the male barricaded himself in the basement of the residence,” according to a report from the Wheatland Police Department. “More officers responded, to include off-duty WPD officers, Platte County deputies, a Platte County K-9 team, and Wyoming Highway Patrol troopers.”
The streets around the area also were closed to traffic and neighbors were asked to stay inside while the man with the hatchet was uncooperative in his basement, the report says.
“A soft perimeter was established around the home to allow officers to negotiate with the male to exit the residence,” according to the report.
While the man “was communicating with us, he was not willing to work with us during our negotiations,” Otte said, adding that, “Yes, there were verbal threats made.”
By that time the alleged female victim in the house with the man had been able to leave, Otte said.
Without any traction on negotiating with the man, “OC/pepper spray gas was introduced into the residence to help force the male out,” the report says. “After a short standoff, the male exited the basement and officers were able to gain control of him.”
But that wasn’t easy, Otte said. He continued to be belligerent, fighting with officers. Already affected by the pepper gas, the man also had to be tased.
By 6 p.m., the standoff was over, Otte said, adding that the pepper gas did exactly what it’s designed to do.
“They’re called aerosol grenades, so they’re a canister with the gas in them, and it fills the room with the gases, which affects your respiration and your eyes,” he said. “It’s a burning sensation and it makes people want to get out of the house.”
Along with not identifying the suspect, Otte said officials also aren’t yet releasing what he’ll be charged with.
Greg Johnson can be reached at greg@cowboystatedaily.com.
