The Police At Work

A true story from todays news.

PORT ANGELES -- A five-hour standoff between Port Angeles police and a reportedly suicidal woman with a knife Friday afternoon ended without a bang, or a whimper.

Police responded to a house on the 1500 block of South K Street at 1:30 p.m. after a woman told 9-1-1 dispatchers that her adult daughter had barricaded herself inside with a knife and was suicidal.

At least four officers and one Clallam County sheriff's deputy responded to the scene.
One officer watching the back of the residence was armed with an assault rifle.
Police closed off the street immediately in front of the house and began attempting to make contact with the woman.

First negotiators tried then the phone inside, then used a "throw phone'' common in crisis negotiations, and finally blared a bullhorn siren.

Meanwhile, neighbors and children stood outside, watching.

A State Patrol bomb squad robot device was brought to the scene, Port Angeles Police Cpl. Kevin Miller said Saturday.

The robot was deployed inside the residence, but couldn't find her.

The house was empty the whole time, Miller said.

Officers cleared the scene at 6:17 p.m., he said.