By:Paul J. Condra
An armed man who police said has a history of mental problems had been holed up alone in his home in Bay Park near East Rockaway for days when the standoff ended Wednesday afternoon. The man had held police at bay since late Monday afternoon.
Police said the 56-year-old man was seen by local residents walking up and down his block Monday afternoon "in an erratic manner" and holding a rifle.
This prompted one concerned neighbor to call 911 at about 4:30 p.m., said Insp. George Gudmundsen, Fourth Precinct commander. The Nassau County Special Operations Unit responded to the call and, by nightfall, held the man "secured" in his two-story home at 64 Waterview St., East Rockaway.
Gudmundsen said police were prepared to wait it out as long as it takes and that in these situations, "time is on our side." Two days later, the man "walked out," police said, peacefully ending the ordeal.
Police did not release the man's name. Neighbors identified the man only as "Al" and witnesses heard police refer to the man in the house as "Al" in efforts to contact him with a megaphone.
Numerous Nassau County police, special operations officers including SWAT riflemen and several members of a crisis negotiating team surrounded the house Monday evening and remained throughout the standoff. Gudmundsen said the large police response was needed to safeguard the area.
"There (were) tactical people in place to protect the residents," he said.
By nightfall Monday evening, special operations had set up a support van as its base of operations where Waterview Street intersects with Compton Street. Waterview is a dead-end street and a small water inlet runs behind the houses on the south side; one of the houses is 64 Waterview. Police surrounded the entire block, as officers -- clad-in-black -- and plain-clothes investigators huddled near the glow of the red light emanating from inside the support van.
The response team was attempting to "engage in dialogue" with the man, Gudmundsen said, and conversation yielded "modest success." He said police "deployed" a phone into the house, as it had no phone service.
"Basically, we threw [the phone] into the house," Gudmundsen said.
He said the man in the house hadn't presented any demands, but police have reason to believe his actions are a sign of mental instability, and that he was angry about not having enough money to pay his bills.
"This was a person who had been a former mental patient," said Gudmundsen, adding the suspect had been in an upstate mental hospital for "many years" until his release in 1991. Police believe he wasn't taking his medication.
"Often we have seen that people who are out-patients behave erratically when they are not taking their medication," he said.
Police did not know what kind of medication had been prescribed to the disturbed man.
In addition, Gudmundsen said the police investigation has yielded some insight into what may have been troubling him. Gudmundsen said there is evidence he was upset over losing his electricity over a week ago. But investigators are still trying to verify why the electricity had been shut off. In addition, Gudmundsen said the man may be behind on his car payments.
"We think money is a problem," Gudmundsen said.
Police said they believe he had two rifles in the house with him, but did not know what kind. Gudmundsen said the man was moving around inside his home, but that he only came outside briefly on Monday around 6 p.m., just as response teams were arriving at the scene and closing off the area. Then, on Wednesday, between three and four p.m., he "walked out," and turned himself in "peacefully," police said.
According to Gudmundsen, officers wanted to avoid any use of force or weapons and said police were prepared to "wait as long as it [took] to resolve it successfully," Gudmundsen said.
For two days, neighbors had to get used to the presence of SWAT teams and police guarding the streets.
Jerry Bradley, 61, who lives down the block and had officers based in front of his home, said he was convinced there was more going on than what the police said.
"I think if it was just a guy in his house with a rifle, a couple of cops could take care of the situation," he said.
Other neighbors said the man is known for walking around with a gun, and acting oddly, but he usually doesn't go off his property.
"A lot of kids play in the street," said Ben Temple, 31, who lives a few houses down and has a 15-month-old child. Temple said the disturbed man would sometimes walk around and peer in neighbors' windows.
There was some speculation as to whether he had been a Vietnam vet. Gudmundsen said the suspect is an Air Force veteran, but that it isn't clear if he is a veteran of war. He said the man is unemployed.
Sarah Hallberg contributed to this story.
