MANCHESTER, NH – After more than six hours police crisis negotiators have lost communication with a man holed up inside a home on Union Street.
Manchester Police Chief Allen Aldenberg said they believe the man is still alive and that they will move on “to the next phase” of the operation to end the stand-off that has the surrounding neighborhood in a “shelter in place” mode since about 9 a.m. It was about an hour earlier that U.S. marshals arrived with an arrest warrant for a person at 1454 Union St., and shots were reportedly fired at the agents. Manchester Police arrived as backup.
The identity of the man has not been made public, but Aldenberg says police know his identity. U.S. marshals arrived there early Wednesday morning to act on an arrest warrant issued by the Drug Enforcement Administration. He said the next phase of the operation would be to introduce “some technology and other means into the residence” with the hope of pushing the person out of the residence.
“We assume he’s still alive. I’m going to exhaust every avenue before sending SWAT officers into the home,” Aldenberg said.
Earlier in the day police fired canisters of chemical irritants into the home.
Aldenberg praised his crisis negotiator who he said was having a “positive back and forth” with the man inside the home earlier in the day.
“It was a good open dialogue for an extended period of time,” Aldenberg said, adding that such negotiations can go up and down in terms of success. At one point the man was asking for more time before exiting the house. Then, communication ceased.
“As chief of police I have to resolve the matter in the interest of public safety,” he said.
Aldenberg acknowledged that police had reported to the same residence last July for a shooting incident that resulted in the death of Barry Lord, 46, who died of a self-inflicted gunshot to the head, but he said police have not confirmed any relationship to that incident.
There were some other people inside the residence Wednesday morning when U.S. marshals initially arrived, but they have since left the premises and spoken with detectives, Aldenberg said.
Given the length of time the stand-off had endured, and the sweltering heat conditions, Aldenberg said he was growing concerned with the safety and wellbeing of his officers in the field, who are geared up in heavy protective equipment. He also said as long as people stay away from the area and follow police advice to shelter in place, the safety of neighbors is not at issue.
“The ‘shelter in place’ remains until we take him into custody and confirm he’s in there,” Aldenberg said. “We always try to communicate in these situations, but at the end of the day we need to do what we need to do as a police department to take him into custody.”
