6 Hour Standoff at Kennedy Plaza – Man Taken For Evaluation After Surrendering
A peaceful ending to a several hour standoff at Kennedy Plaza Apartments in Utica on Tuesday afternoon. Police say a man confronted staff with a knife on at least two occasions and also threatened to harm himself and police. However, he ultimately surrendered when authorities decided to use a SWAT team to enter his 15th floor apartment.
UPD officers were called to Kennedy Plaza at around 10:30 Tuesday morning on complaints that a tenant of the building had threatened staff with a knife. Officials told UPD this came after learning that someone had sprayed graffiti on several different floors of the complex during the overnight hours. When staff began cleaning the walls, the tenant from the 15th floor later involved in the standoff with police threatened them with a knife. He then did so again in the building's lobby before returning his apartment, police reported.
During the course of the six hour police response, the Utica Police Crisis Intervention Team and MCAT were utilized along with the robotic vehicle from Herkimer PD.
The suspect had made threats throughout the course of the incident to hurt responders and himself, including threats to jump from his rise balcony. At one point, police said he was throwing items from his apartment balcony into the courtyard below. As efforts to negotiate with the man continued unsuccessfully the METRO SWAT was used to enter his apartment, at which time authorities said he immediately surrendered and was taken into custody without further incident.
Police have not released the identity of the person involved in the incident, but did say was taken for a mental health evaluation. It is expected the man will face felony charges once his is released from the hospital, police said.
[AUTHOR'S NOTE: This post is for informational purposes. The information provided within was provided publicly by law enforcement. Any charges or accusations of wrongdoing mentioned in the article are only allegations and the reader is reminded that all persons are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.]