Bonnyville RCMP shut down parts of Main Street and warned local residents to stay indoors on Sunday afternoon as the local authority found itself embroiled in a near 10 hour standoff with a male at a residence on 51a Street. According to Staff Sgt.
Bonnyville RCMP shut down parts of Main Street and warned local residents to stay indoors on Sunday afternoon as the local authority found itself embroiled in a near 10 hour standoff with a male at a residence on 51a Street.
According to Staff Sgt. of the local policing detachment Luis Gandolfi, the situation, which saw RCMP call in its Emergency Response Team, PDS Canine Unit and EDU bomb squad, was resolved quietly shortly before midnight, with no serious injuries sustained. A (find age) man was arrested and is currently being held under the Mental Health Act.
"I'm very, very happy that the subject in this case was apprehended without any major injuries sustained," Gandolfi told the Nouvelle in the early hours of Monday morning. "Our officers dealt with this situation very well under some nasty circumstances. They had to be outside for lengthy periods of time in very harsh weather conditions. I'm very proud of their efforts and I'm happy everything ended as they did considering the circumstances."
At approximately 2 p.m. RCMP responded to a complaint from an individual who claimed her boyfriend had been consuming high quantities of alcohol and drugs over the past few days. The caller apparently had concerns for her safety with the individual at hand previously having problems regarding his mental stability.
According to RCMP, upon arrival the male was uncooperative and police immediately backed away from the situation. They were not given access to the individual's home and the responding members had some concerns the individual had access to firearms.
Police then carried out what Gandolfi described as a "usual risk assessment", whereby the members look at such things as the history of the individual, the state of mind of the individual, whether or not the individual has access to weapons as well as considering any comments or threats that may have been made that may lead RCMP into thinking the individual is violent. During this incident, the attending members also collected witness reports from locals in the area.
"Based on all of these factors, our members will assess the level of risk (posed to the public) and if the level of risk is considered high we may have to consider calling in outside resources, which was the case today," Gandolfi explained.
Shortly after the initial exchange, police closed down Main Street between 51 and 53 Street, as well as taping off parts of Lakeshore Drive, 51a Street and 52 Street. Several local residents were escorted from their homes for safety reasons as the situation escalated.
Following nearly 10-hours of negotiations, local police were able to arrest the individual. He is currently being held under the Mental Health Act and will be assessed by a physician once he has sobered up.
Gandolfi was quick to thank the public for their cooperation and understanding during a situation that saw roughly 20 officers from Bonnyville, St. Paul and Cold Lake responding to over the course of the day.
"We appreciate the understanding of those families we had to remove from their residences and we appreciate the understanding (of the general public at large)," Gandolfi said. "This was a serious situation and for everything to have been resolved safely, without any major injuries (is very pleasing)."
