HUTCHINSON, Kan. — A long standoff ended peacefully Tuesday in a rural area north of Hutchinson. It started when law enforcement was summoned to an area just north of 56th Avenue on Plum for a troubled subject.
“Deputies responded to the scene and made contact with a male who we believed to be in crisis,” Sheriff’s Capt. Levi Blumanhourst said. “He would not talk to us or seek help. He was by himself.”
Officers left, hoping the individual, later identified as James Medina, would seek treatment, only to be recalled an hour later to the same location.
“We received a call from neighbors in the area that there were gunshots coming from the house,” Blumanhourst said. “Deputies responded back to the scene. We set up a perimeter around the house and set up a tactical team.”
Blumanhourst says, at that time, they tried to make contact with Medina in an attempt to get him to come out of the home.
“We attempted to contact him, he was not contacting our tactical team,” Blumanhourst said. “We did use our crisis negotiators and they spoke with him on the phone for several hours.”
Eventually, the Sheriff’s Office Special Response Team and the police department's emergency response team worked together to take Medina into custody without incident.
Plum from 56th Avenue to 82nd was closed to through traffic during the standoff. There were no injuries.
The department says they will refer the case to the district attorney's office to see if criminal charges are warranted.
Medina was booked into jail Tuesday night on charges of Aggravated Assault of a Law Enforcement Officer with a deadly weapon, Criminal Threat; with Intent to Terrorize or cause Evacuation and Disorderly Conduct; Fighting words or noisy conduct on a requested bond of $500,000.
-----------
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — A long standoff has ended peacefully in a rural area north of Hutchinson on Tuesday. It started when law enforcement was summoned to an area just north of 56th Avenue on Plum for a troubled subject.
“Deputies responded to the scene and made contact with a male who we believed to be in crisis,” Sheriff’s Capt. Levi Blumanhourst said. “He would not talk to us or seek help. He was by himself.”
Officers left hoping the individual would seek treatment, only to be recalled an hour later to the same location.
“We received a call from neighbors in the area that there were gunshots coming from the house,” Blumanhourst said. “Deputies responded back to the scene. We set up a perimeter around the house and set up a tactical team.”
Blumanhourst says, at that time, they tried to make contact with the individual in an attempt to get him to come out of the home.
“We attempted to contact him, he was not contacting our tactical team,” Blumanhourst said. “We did use our crisis negotiators and they spoke with him on the phone for several hours.”
Eventually, the Sheriff’s Office Special Response Team and the police department's emergency response team worked together to take the man into custody without incident.
No name was released and law enforcement officers were still on the scene conducting their investigation. Plum from 56th Avenue to 82nd was closed to through traffic during the standoff. There were no injuries.