RCMP crisis negotiation team helps resolve standoff peacefully in Lake Country

A 53-year-old Lake Country man was arrested and taken to hospital for assessment after a four-hour standoff with police on Thursday night.

Police say the man was armed and distraught.

The incident, which began just before 6 p.m., unfolded along Roberts Road above Highway 97 between Oceola Road and Robinson Road.

Police say they received a call from someone who knows the man.

“They were very concerned for him,” Cpl. Meghan Foster told Global News.

Police arrived on scene and located a man with a weapon in a wooded area below Roberts Road.

They quickly cordoned off the area and began evacuating residents from their homes on Roberts Road.

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Residents told Global News that officers, armed with rifles, went door-to-door, telling them to leave as quickly as possible.

“Situations like this, they are unpredictable and we always proceed with extreme caution to ensure that we are protecting the citizens,” said Foster.

Police would not say what kind of weapon the man was in possession of, but it was enough of a threat for police to shut down a section of Highway 97.

“If in the event he were to be on foot and proceed towards the highway, and perhaps get around the containment, we wanted to be prepared for that and be prepared to protect the motorists going by,” said Foster.

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While the nature of the man’s crisis is not known, members of the crisis negotiation team were called in, with a peaceful conclusion coming four hours after the incident began.

“We were able to convince him whatever it was he was suffering could be overcome, and you know he was reasonable and definitely cooperative with police and I think he too reached that conclusion and surrendered himself peacefully,” Cpl. Foster said.

Roberts Road was re-opened just after 10 p.m., and residents were given the green light to go home.

At this point, the man, who police say is known to them, is not facing any criminal charges.

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