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    Police-Fire Reports
    Tuesday, April 16, 2024

    Police standoff with armed man ends peacefully in Waterford

    A state police sharpshooter prepares his rifle as police work the scene of an armed standoff at the end of Ferri Drive in Waterford on Saturday.

    Waterford — An hours-long standoff with an armed man who had barricaded himself inside his Ferri Drive mobile home and allegedly threatened to “shoot the first cop I see” ended Saturday night with the man in police custody.

    “I’m pleased to say that it’s stabilized and the individual’s in custody,” said Waterford police Chief Murray J. Pendleton.

    No one was injured, and members of the Connecticut State Police Emergency Services Unit were able to persuade the man to leave the house, said Waterford police Lt. Brett Mahoney. The man, whom police did not identify Saturday, was taken to Lawrence + Memorial Hospital. He has not yet been charged, Mahoney said.

    The armed standoff began at 3:21 p.m. in the mobile home park off Woodland Grove Road near Boston Post Road (Route 1) and ended shortly after 9 p.m. Waterford police evacuated nearby residents from their homes and unsuccessfully attempted to make contact with the man before they called state police for assistance, Mahoney said in a press release.

    The standoff was the second such incident in the region this month. Norwich police Officer Jonathan Ley was shot numerous times on Jan. 7 during an armed standoff with a “despondent, suicidal” man at the Cedar Glen Apartments on Cedar Street in Norwich.

    Ley, 38, is recovering from his injuries. The despondent man, 30-year-old Jason Razzino, committed suicide.

    Saturday, Theresia Hickey, who lives on Ferri Drive, said she was reading the newspaper when she saw a police cruiser from her window. An officer told her she had to leave her home and sent residents to the Waterford Community Center, the site of a temporary shelter for displaced people.

    State police negotiated with the man, whom they called John, using a bullhorn.

    “This is the state police,” they called out. “We’re not going to go away, John. I need you to come out. Please come outside.”

    Police also used a device to periodically emit a high-pitched screeching noise.

    Neighbor Beverly Rose said the man is quiet but friendly. He is in his 50s, she said.

    “I’d say, ‘Hi John,’ and he’d say ‘Hi, Bev,’ and that was it,” she said.

    Rose said she has lived in her home for 20 years, and that John has lived there for longer. He recently put up for-sale signs at his property, she said.

    A large contingent of news reporters, displaced residents and curious onlookers gathered Saturday evening at the nearby Rite Aid pharmacy parking lot on Route 1.

    The Jordan and Oswegatchie fire departments and the L+M paramedics also assisted police during the standoff, Mahoney said.

    The incident remains under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to contact Waterford police at (860) 442-9451 or at ravdevich@waterfordct.org. All calls and emails will be kept confidential. Reference Case No. 2013-00131.

    s.goldstein@theday.com

    k.drelich@theday.com

    Waterford and state police secure the scene after an armed standoff on Ferri Drive in Waterford ends Saturday evening.

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