Vancouver Police respond to hostage standoff, one Officer has been wounded

[Chief]

Six blocks from my house! You know it has to be serious, when the Portland Bomb Squad comes rolling past your house...

http://www.1190kex.com/cc-common/news/sections/newsarticle.html?feed=123543&article=2400959

Police were serving a search warrant when the suspect fled. An officer was shot during the altercation.
By Brad Ford
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Vancouver Police have a home surrounded near SE 156th and SE 12th. They were serving a search warrant Wednesday morning when the suspect fled and fired shots at officers. One officer was hit. That officer's condition is not known. Several nearby homes are evacuated.

**SCHNIPP**

We have every cop in 20 miles out here right now, and it appears they are waiting this guy out, at least for now...

Developing...

[Chief]

It's still going on. We hear sirens in and out in the distance, but at least the helicopters have stopped hovering over the neighborhood.

Mountain View High School is an armed camp. The Washington county Sherriff's SWAT team just showed up to relieve the Multnomah County Sherriff, who were acting as backup.

Apparantly this was the Carreer criminal Apprehension team that attempted to serve the warrant on this guy earlier this morning. He escaped out of his apartment, and barricaded himself in someone's house, let Mom go, and has Dad held as hostage. Somewhere along the way he decided to shoot a Police Officer, who, Thank God, did not sustain a life-threatening injury.

We are going on 12 hours now, and I'm sure my neighbors who had to evacuate their homes are quite concerned about when they may be allowed back in. Of course as long as this derelict is armed and barricaded, the Police obviously cannot allow the immediate neighbors anywhere near the house.

All of this over one meth head.

You remember the meth heads don't you?? Those would be the very same meth heads that the Clark County Commissioners raised the sales tax recently, in order to extract an additional Six Million Dollars from us to pay to rehabilitate them.

I wonder if all of the local constabularies can tap that fund to pay for the cost of this hostage standoff??

I won't hold my breath before that happens either....

::)

[Chief]

On the bright side though, (and what should certainly be on the next list of the City of America's The 'Couv's list of accomplishments), at least this guy wasn't down in Ester Short Park drinking malt liquor...

Stout Hearts...

[Chief]

Updating....

We just got word here that the sirens we heard was the hostage being escorted out of the area and to Southwest Washington medical center. Apparantly the hostage was released, but there is no word yet on his condition.

Developing...

[Chief]

Updating....

They apparently rushed the hostage to the hospital with 2 gunshot wounds to the abdomen; there is no word on his condition.

Not a good development. There is little to stop the Police from ending this very shortly.

[tefen]

Crazy stuff, Chief.

Growin' up, my friend's house was once used by the police in a shoot out with a neighbor across the street. It's pretty scary when things like this happen.

Oh, oh, oh, and when that Roy Russel guy killed Chelsea Harrison... yeah, on my block. That was an interesting couple of weeks.

Here's hopin' everything turns out alright in the end.

The malt liquor statement made me chuckle.

[Chief]

It's 10 PM and it's still going on.

One damned meth head!!

[Chief]

It's 5:15 and as far as i am aware this sorry epidode continues unabated.

One meth head, and we have now had some of our most expensive community assets tied up for almost 24 hours, and a Police Officer is likely having surgery this mornig to remove a bullet from his back.

One meth head!

And what do I see in my morning rag?? An entire story splashed across the front page about how the columbian's idiot reporter injected himself into an evolving hostage crisis, by trying to take pictures out the bathroom window of the house next door, and in the process managed to get the family (and the reporters) evacuated to the High School several blocks away.

What ever happened to the rule that a reporter shold never make themselves part of the story they are covering?? Since when is that something to brag about on the front page??

Clueless!!

[Chief]

Updating....

While I was making my earlier update, the Police were able to finally arrest the meth head, he is in custody, and this crisis is over. Everyone is standing down; the fire department has left, and I'm sure we will see a parade of emergency vehicles in and out all day as the investigation wraps up.

No details yet on how they got him; I don't know if he surrendered or was captured; we will no doubt find out later this morning.

[karma]

Let me tell you Chief, these situations are not uncommon here. And when you see several cars of local enforcement officiers parked outside a house or these officiers with guns drawn, it's now wise to hang around. Let alone allow a reporter into your home?? But again when you live with this in your neighborhood on a daily bases, you will know when to leave or stay clear of those neighbors!! This place is not a safe place to live anymore!!

[Chief]

Well, we don't have this going on in our neighborhood on a regular basis, and we sure don't need the columbian's ambulance chasers down here making the situation worse, either.

[Chief]

I just sent a copy of this e-mail to the Vancouver Police Chief, Clark County Sheriff, Portland Police Chief, Washington County Sheriff, Multnomah County Sheriff, and the Gresham Police Chief. I would suggest that anyone who agrees, do the same.

----- Original Message -----
From: Bob Koski
To: vanpd@ci.vancouver.wa.us
Sent: Thursday, July 19, 2007 11:36 AM
Subject: Thank You and an apology


Dear Chief Cook;

I am writing this morning to thank you personally, for the very heroic actions of the members of the Vancouver Police Department who took part in ending the hostage standoff in my neighborhood early this morning. I live about six blocks from where that standoff occured, and I am deeply grateful that your Officers were able to capture their suspect without loss of life, or any further injuries to Police Officers. My wife and I are relieved beyond words that the Officer who was shot will recover.

At the same time, I feel like I must apologise to you for the action of members of the newspaper staff of the columbian, whose irresponsible actions were documented on the front page of the morning paper. I consider the reported actions of the columbian reporter Howard Buck to be the height of irresponsibility, by risking the lives of himself, his crew, the homeowner, and the Police Officers who were actively trying to control a bad situation in a residential neighborhood.

Frankly Chief Cook, I am hard pressed to decide who was more irresponsible; the reporter who was playing peek-a-boo with an armed gunman, or the columbian's editorial staff for printing it on the front page along with pictures of the Officers who were trying to do their job.

I want you to know that as a citizen of Vancouver, and a grateful resident of the neighborhood your Officers protected over the last 24 hours, that I am outraged at the conduct of the columbian and their staff, and I am raising my concerns with all of my contacts in the City of Vancouver, and elsewhere. I am also urging my fellow citizens to do the same.

Again, you have the eternal gratitude of me and my neighbors for the bravery and consumate professionalism that was displayed here yesterday. Thank you so very much.

Bob Koski
**** SE Briarwood Drive
Vancouver, Washington 98683

[Chief]

And just sent to the "letters" editor at the oregonian.

----- Original Message -----
From: Bob Koski
To: letters@news.oregonian.com
Sent: Thursday, July 19, 2007 12:18 PM
Subject: A Thank You and an Apology


Dear Editor;

As a resident of the Vancouver neighborhood that went through the recent hostage standoff, I would like to thank all of the members of the many area Police Departments, Sheriffs Deputies, and other agents and agencies whose consummate professionalism successfully ended a dangerous hostage standoff just up the street from my house. My wife and I are relieved beyond words that the Officer who was shot will recover, and grateful beyond measure that the situation was ended without any loss of life or futher injuries to our Police Officers.

At the same time I was appalled to read of the escapades of columbian reporter Howard Buck and his associates who put themselves, a local homeowner, and the police officers who were trying to control an armed standoff all at risk by trying to take closeup tabloid-style photographs of the unfolding hostage crisis.

A responsible member of the community would have immediately recognized the extreme hazard of covertly remaining that close to the scene, and taken measures to evacuate the residents. But the actions Buck bragged about in his report were shameful and risky in the extreme, as is the action of the columbian's editorial board to publish that nonsense, with pictures of the officers who had to evacuate all of them. At the very least, common decency requires that the columbian pay for the cost of retrieving their errant reporter, instead of allowing him a platform to brag about how cool it is to ride in an armored car..

Those brave Oregon and Washington Police Officers all have our eternal gratitude for their professional conduct and successful ending of a very dangerous situation here in our neighborhood.. I hope they will also accept our apology for the irresponsible actions and on behalf of some members of our community.

Bob Koski
**** SE Briarwood Drive
Vancouver, WA 98683

[Chief]

Just when you think that we're done with the smarmy journalism stories out of the local rag, guess what pops up again in the morning paper??

It turns out that yet another columbian reporter was busted during this incident, and we are only now finding out about it. Don Hamilton plead guilty Thursday to atempting to access an ambulance computer that was at the scene of this hostage standoff, in an attempt to find out the name of the Police Officer who had been shot.

Why is it that we are just finding out about this now?? Especially in light of the glee Don Hamilton and the columbian get out of taking picture ofperp walks of people who have been charged with crimes??

I'll put the whole story up later when it becomes available, but for now, you can review the facts of the case for starters...

Anyonw care to wager me about what the subject of Lou's scribblings will be tomorrow??

::)

[Waterbuffalo]

Aren't we going to to be playing whatck-a-mole with these guys? Sorry but I think this will happen again and again and again.

Maybe we need "Regime Change?"