Crime & Safety

UPDATE: Standoff With New Canaan Man Ends With Flash Bang, Police Dog

Police have now transferred the suspect to Weston.

Update 2:18 p.m.

New Canaan police have issued a statment saying that the investigation is ongoing "and charges are pending for crimes that were committed in New Canaan."

Update 1:38 p.m.

Find out what's happening in New Canaanwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Police officials at about 1 p.m. left the area of 295 Ponus Ridge, where the all-night standoff took place.

Throughout the morning, Weston police could be seen searching inside the home and removing window screens from within.

Find out what's happening in New Canaanwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

New Canaan Police spokesperson Sgt. Carol Ogrinc spoke to Patch before leaving the scene and provided further details of how police finally arrested a man in his mid-40s who is accused of threatening residents and officials in New Canaan and Weston.

Police first surrounded the house and stood at each window, she said.

"The standoff ended when (a SWAT team) threw in a 'flash bang,' " Ogrinc said. The device, which emits a large flash and a loud bang, is used by police to create a distraction.

Police then sent in a police dog on a long leash and the man surrendered, she said.

Once the man surrendered he was "totally compliant," Ogrinc said.

Ogrinc said she did not know "the exact nature of the (man's) threats" because the arrest warrant was obtained by Weston police.

Weston police referred calls seeking comment to Police Chief John Troxell, who was not immediately available.

According to Ogrinc, Weston officials will identify the man and he likely will be arraigned in Norwalk on Monday.

"In towns with less crime, like this, these things really stand out," Ogrinc said.

 

Original Story

The suspect in an all-night police standoff has been transferred to the custody of Weston police while offiicials continue to search and patrol the Ponus Ridge home where the confrontation took place. 

According to the New Canaan Police Department, the suspect, a man reportedly in his mid-40s, had made "threats of violence" on Friday against government officials and the general public in Weston and New Canaan. Police attempted to serve a warrant for the man's arrest at 10:30 p.m. Friday, according to a statement from the New Canaan Police Department.

New Canaan police Lt. Vince DeMaio, the night shift commander on scene, stood guard at the front door of 295 Ponus Ridge, on the corner of Adams Lane, at 11 a.m. Saturday as Weston officers executed a search of the property.  DeMaio declined to say what the Weston officers were searching for.

"The suspect refused to come out," DeMaio said. "We called in Special Response Teams from New Canaan and Greenwich, and had negotiators from both towns on the scene."  The standoff ended at about 8:30 a.m. Saturday when the suspect left the house. "He surrendered once a police dog was sent in," DeMaio said. The police dog is part of the Greenwich police force.

"The dogs are intimidating, and it's safer for the officers to send in the dog," DeMaio said. "This is why we're looking forward to getting one of our own. So we don't have to wait for them to come from other towns."

According to DeMaio, the suspect will face charges from New Canaan as well as Weston. "We're drawing up a warrant now," DeMaio said. "There will be charges here, too."

The New Canaan police statement says that an arrest warrant was obtained without provision for a bond.

Greenwich police officials confirmed that their department assisted in the arrest and referred questions to Capt. James Heavey of the patrol division. He was not immediately available for comment. According to Greenwich police website, the department's K-9 unit includes a German shepherd dog named Tyro, who is certified in Patrol Procedures by the Connecticut State Police and the United States Police Canine Association.


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