A standoff between Mendocino County law enforcement and an armed man ended Saturday evening after the subject poured gasoline on himself threatening self-immolation in the Albion area. Mendocino County Sheriff Matt Kendall said the subject is a known felon on parole who had a ramey warrant for reckless evasion and threats against a police officer
At some point during the six hour standoff, Mendocino County Sheriff Matt Kendall said the suspect had doused himself with gasoline and was holding a lighter while sitting in the cabin of the vehicle. Sheriff Kendall said the flammable subject kept officers from using tear gas or other gas agents used in stand off situations due to the incendiary properties of the devices. Eventually though an Albion Volunteer firefighter on scene reportedly sprayed the subject with a fire hose.
Sheriff Kendall said deputies saw a rifle butt many times during the standoff. At one point, Sheriff Kendall described law enforcement deploying a drone to get an overhead perspective of the subject and that vantage point confirmed the presence of a long gun. When the subject caught sight of the drone, Sheriff Kendall reported the subject became angry and broke out the window of his vehicle. Sheriff Kendall later revealed that the firearm turned out to be a pellet gun.
Sheriff Kendall said it was at this point that firefighters from Albion Volunteer Fire Department sprayed “hundreds of gallons” into the subject’s vehicle forcing him to get out. The man was then immediately subdued by a K9 Officer.
According to scanner traffic reported on by Paul McCarthy’s MendocinoSportsPlus, deputies contacted the subject at approximately 2:00 pm near I Road in Albion and attempted negotiations when it was recognized he was armed and threatening law enforcement. At approximately 2:15 pm, scanner traffic indicated law enforcement requested the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office Armored Vehicle to assist in the incident.
Kathy Wylie, Albion resident, said locals received two robocalls during the incident: “One with a warning of police activity in the area, at 4pm. And the second with the ‘all clear’ at 9:16. I also got a text message with the all-clear message at 9:14.”
According to Mendocino County 5th District Supervisor Ted Williams who was there serving his role as a volunteer with the Albion Fire Department, several agencies responded to the stand-off including California Highway Patrol, California Parks Service, Fish and Wildlife, Ukiah Police Department, Albion Fire Department, and a local ambulance company.manning the standoff lasting nearly six hours.
Supervisor Williams praised law enforcement’s response to the incident characterizing it as “patient and coordinated.”
The featured image is from WikiCommons published by “CHPSocialMedia” entitled “Members of the CHP SWAT Team”
It’s important to note that the ‘robo call’ emergency alerts are opt-in; search for “Mendo Alerts” or emergency alerts on the Mendocino County website for more info. It’s a different program than Nixle. Users can enter multiple addresses to get alerts for (work, home, & elderly parent, for example), choose what type of alerts to receive (emergencies, flooding, etc.), and how you receive them (phone, text, land line, email). The more people who sign up, the more effective the system is.
I think it remiss of you to mention Ted Williams and not mention the name of the ALRFPD Chief, Michael Rees along with names of all the other volunteer firefighters who were at last night’s call.
You place a lot of emphasis on Ted as district supervisor however last night he was serving as a volunteer firefighter of ALRFPD and not in his capacity as supervisor. I believe in giving credit where it’s due, and although Ted is a very good district supervisor, he alone did not bring the situation to a resolve and worked in tandem with the other firefighters. I believe he would agree with me.
Wendy, your sentiment is appreciated. The inclusion of Supervisor Williams was not intended to diminish the importance others played in ending the standoff. He was the only one I knew on site that could provide comment. If you would like to set me up with Chief Michael Rees, It would be a pleasure to have a conversation.