Law Enforcement in 7-Hour Long Confrontation
–Updated Below–
Skippy Massey
Humboldt Sentinel
There was more controlled chaos in our Fair City this morning when a barricaded man held law enforcement
at bay four blocks south of Harris Street in Eureka.
It began with a call to EPD around 2 this morning and that shots were fired inside a residence located off the 3000 block of E Street on Cooper Lane.
Eureka Police, the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office, a SWAT team, an Arcata mobile command unit, and hostage negotiators responded to the incident scene, setting up a command and observation post nearby on Hodgson and Orchard streets.
Officers with bulletproof vests were seen taking cover behind a vehicle with pointed weapons directed at the residence.
The armed man initially refused to cooperate with the multiple agencies outside his door demanding his surrender. Refusing their directives, he held the lawmen at a lengthy distance for nearly seven hours before the standoff ended shortly after 10 a.m. this morning.
“I heard him fire four or five shots, all of them,” one witness said. “He was doing all the shooting and he threatened to kill them twice.”
Eureka Police later identified the individual as Jeffrey Wood, 36-years-old, of Eureka.
Exactly what precipitated the incident or how it ended is unknown. Details were not available by the agencies that responded.
Following the incident, E Street, and nearby streets, remained blocked off.
Law enforcement is in the process of serving a search warrant of the residence where the man had himself holed up.
UPDATE: The HCSO has released the following information about the incident:
On 11-1-2012, at approximately 2:00 a.m., the Eureka Police Department received a call from a resident on Cooper Lane in Eureka regarding a possible prowler in his residence.
The resident told the Eureka Police Dispatcher he heard people in his basement and he had now armed himself. Eureka Police officers responded to the residence.
When they arrived, they attempted to contact the resident and asked him to step outside without the firearm.
After making that request they heard several shots and yelling inside the residence.
The officers surrounded the residence and announced their presence while again asking the resident to come outside unarmed.
Eureka Police had a crisis negotiator respond to the residence while continuing to attempt to talk to the resident. The resident continued to yell at the officers and refused to exit the home. Eureka Police then set up a perimeter around the residence and evacuated several homes.
Eureka Police requested the Humboldt County Sheriff’s S.W.A.T. and Crisis Negotiations Team respond to the scene. The Sheriff’s S.W.A.T. team has members of the Eureka Police Department as part of the regional SWAT team.
The Humboldt County Sheriff’s SWAT Team and Sheriff’s Office Crisis Negotiators responded to the scene. The Humboldt County Mental Health Crisis Unit was notified and two members responded to the scene to advise and assist law enforcement negotiators.
Several times during the standoff the resident was seen with a handgun in his hand in and outside of the residence.
At approximately 10:00 a.m., the 46-year-old male resident, identified as Jeffery Morgan Wood, exited the residence without any firearms and surrendered to law enforcement.
No one was injured during the standoff.
Wood was arrested by Eureka Police Department for discharging a firearm in a grossly negligent manner. Eureka Police is obtaining a Humboldt County Superior Court Search Warrant for the residence.
Additional charges may be added by Eureka Police who will be releasing a follow up press release if warranted.
KMUD’s radio interview with Humboldt County Sheriff Mike Downey speaking about this incident is here.
(Posted by Skippy Massey)
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[...] The Eureka Police Department gave an update on the arrest and search warrant of Jeffrey Wood. Mr. Wood, after arming and barricading himself, held law enforcement at bay in a seven-hour standoff in Eureka yesterday before surrendering, as reported in the Humboldt Sentinel: [...]