By Doug Miller
Police said that Peter Yost, 30, of 110 Georgia Ave., an Ivy-League-educated insurance broker, was upset over a child custody battle with an ex-girlfriend, so he filled his house with propane, planning to commit suicide by blowing himself up.
Detective Lt. Vincent Buscemi said Tuesday that Yost's uncle called the Long Beach police and told them his nephew was threatening suicide. After the initial police response, led by Sgt. Tim Radin, the threat level was gauged, and Buscemi and Lt. Michael Tangney took control of the scene.
"From the porch, we could smell the propane and hear the hissing of the tank," said Buscemi. "We could see into the house and see him in the bathroom with the tank between his legs, waving a barbecue lighter, flicking the trigger to warn us off."
Buscemi said Yost was ranting and raving, warning the police to stay out of the house. Out on the street, the Nassau County Emergency Services Department was called in, five homes surrounding Yost's were evacuated and the Long Beach Fire Department set up a command center two blocks away, on Indiana Avenue, preparing for the worst.
Meanwhile, Tangney and Buscemi tried to convince Yost to give them his cell phone number so they could begin a dialogue, but Yost refused, Buscemi said, insisting repeatedly and angrily, "You know my number!"
With diplomacy no longer an option and the county fire marshal warning that an explosion would kill Yost, Buscemi and Tangney instantly and badly burn the dozen other officers on the scene, Buscemi and Tangney came up with a plan, best described as "I'll go high, you go low."
Tangney got down on all fours, out of Yost's line of sight, and crawled up the porch stairs to the door. On Buscemi's signal, he forced open the door, but Yost saw him coming and pushed the door closed. At that point, Buscemi and Tangney both broke down the door and rushed Yost. They pinned him down, and other cops jumped on top.
Buscemi, at the bottom of the pile, gripped the wrist on Yost's lighter-holding hand. "The other officers were yelling 'Vinnie, we got him, we got him,' but I wasn't letting go," he said.
Yost fought them to the end, Buscemi said. "He's not big, but he was determined," he said. "He's kind of muscular, and he smelled of alcohol."
The initial call came in to police at 8:08 p.m. Yost was brought out at 8:37, 29 minutes later. He was double-handcuffed and clapped in leg irons, and charged with two counts of first-degree reckless endangerment, a class D felony, and one count of resisting arrest, a class A misdemeanor.
After processing, Yost was arraigned in his hospital bed at Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow. Long Beach City Court Judge Roy Tepper arraigned him and remanded to the hospital's psychiatric ward for 30 days of observation.
On Tuesday morning, Buscemi and Tangney were still feeling banged up but fortunate. Tangney had a possible bruised rib, and Buscemi said he was sore in several places. "I made the call for Tangney and me to take the door," Buscemi said, "and we ended the situation quickly. We couldn't wait or run away. This is the job of a police officer.
"And I got home and my wife told me I was crazy."
A Georgia Avenue neighbor said the police were very helpful during the ordeal, and very understanding when she told them she wanted to go back into her house for her dog. "The officer said OK and went in with me," she said. "All the police were wonderful."
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