Standoff in upstate N.Y. ends with suspect's suicide | lohud.com | The Journal News

Standoff in upstate N.Y. ends with suspect's suicide | lohud.com | The Journal News

Standoff in upstate N.Y. ends with suspect's suicide

Larry Hertz
Poughkeepsie Journal

A suspect in a rape case wrested a gun from a Dutchess County sheriff's detective during questioning and fatally shot himself three hours after he wounded a detective and then barricaded himself in an office at sheriff's headquarters, Sheriff Butch Anderson said.

Anderson and Undersheriff Kirk Imperati declined to identify the man who committed suicide or the detective who was hurt.

Imperati said a bullet grazed the detective on the side of his head. He was treated at St. Francis Hospital and released.

This standoff was apparently unprecedented, as local law enforcement officers with decades of experience could not recall a similar incident in Dutchess or Ulster counties.

The incident shut down streets in the city for hours, with area police agencies responding to the crisis. The standoff left some neighbors concerned about the impact on the community, while others said they have always felt safe.

According to Anderson, the incident began at about 1:05 p.m., as the suspect was being interviewed by two detectives in a room in the juvenile aid division of the detective bureau on the second floor of the sheriff's headquarters on North Hamilton Street in Poughkeepsie.

"While being prepared for arraignment, the suspect attempted to escape and struggled with a detective, gaining control of the detective's weapon," Anderson said in a statement.

Imperati said the gun was a .40-caliber semiautomatic pistol.

The suspect then barricaded himself in an unoccupied office. About three hours later, members of the sheriff's Emergency Services Unit heard a gunshot, entered the office and found the man dead on the floor, Imperati said.

Visitors to the Dutchess County jail, which is connected to the Sheriff's Office, were evacuated from the jail. They gathered around the roadblock police created at North Hamilton and High streets, a short distance south of the Dutchess County Sheriff's Office and jail, watching and waiting for the standoff to conclude.

City of Poughkeepsie Police Department Mobile Command Unit, emergency services from the city and town of Poughkeepsie, as well as the sheriff's emergency service unit were on the scene. Members of the FBI were seen, too.

Imperati said the Sheriff's Office was continuing its investigation of the incident. He said deputies had been trained to respond to such emergencies.

"We have a protocol, and it was followed," the undersheriff said.

Speaking to reporters outside the Sheriff's Office yesterday, Anderson thanked members of the state police, city and town of Poughkeepsie police, FBI, Dutchess County Department of Emergency Response, Mobile Life paramedics, Dutchess County Medical Examiner's Office and sheriff's deputies and civilian staff for their help during the standoff.