Armed, Barricaded Suspect Allegedly Threw Paint Cans, Pool Balls, Tools At Police

An armed and barricaded assault suspect in Colorado allegedly hurled pool balls, paint cans and other household objects at responding police officers before his eventual arrest.

The Westminster Police Department said in a statement Wednesday that its SWAT team responded shortly before 11 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 4, to assist patrol officers with a barricaded suspect who had allegedly assaulted his father. While patrol officers worked to “negotiate a peaceful surrender,” the suspect “turned violent an armed himself with a knife.”

The 37-year-old suspect, who was not named by police, proceeded to throw household objects at officers from a distance, including tools, pool balls, paint cans and other items. That’s when SWAT was called to assist.

“The situation escalated when the suspect barricaded himself in the basement, wearing an armored vest and gas mask, refusing all commands,” police said. As a result, they deployed drones with cameras, which revealed the suspect, still armed with a knife, hiding in a crawl space.

The suspect appeared to surrender to police, but “suddenly dropped the knife and physically attacked SWAT operators,” police said. A “brief struggle” followed before the suspect was safely taken into custody.

The suspect was booked into the Adams County Jail on charges of first-degree assault, four counts of second-degree assault, two counts of third-degree assault, obstruction of telephone or telegraph service, criminal mischief worth more than $5,000 but less than $20,000, failure or refusal to leave premises (barricade), and menacing by use/simulation of a firearm/knife/bludgeon.

“This dangerous situation could have ended much worse, but thanks to our highly trained officers and SWAT operators, it was resolved safely,” police said.