By Mary Malloy
Scott Stroh, 45, of 13 Rhame Ave., got involved in an argument with his wife at about 12:20 a.m. in front of their home, pulling her hair and punching her several times in the face, the detectives said. A neighbor who witnessed the incident called police, who responded, speaking first with the neighbor.
"The presence of the officers apparently angered Stroh, who then became loud and argumentative," said Nassau County Detective Lt. Kevin Smith, adding that Stroh yelled something threatening toward them, and an officer approached him. "Stroh slammed the [front] door on the officer and punched through the door's pane of glass," Smith said.
The officer maced Stroh through the door opening, according to the detectives' report, and it was then that Stroh barricaded himself, his wife and their seven children, who range in age from 15 to an infant, in their home, refusing to come out or let the police in.
The Nassau County Police Department Bureau of Special Operations was called in, holding shields and taking up positions behind neighbors' fences, in backyards and along the street, witnesses said. Police cars blocked traffic in and out of the immediate area, while officers knocked on doors, instructing residents to stay inside until the incident was over.
"It was so surreal to watch the SWAT team hide behind trees with their guns drawn," said Rhame Avenue resident Evelyn Contaldi, who lives a few doors down from the Strohs. She said that police knocked on her door at 5 a.m. and told her to remain inside. "My teenage grandson wanted to get to school, and ... my younger grandson was just wide-eyed," Contaldi said. "We were terribly concerned for the youngsters in that house."
After the BSO hostage negotiators talked with Stroh by phone, Smith said, Stroh's wife came out of the front door of the house at approximately 6:30 a.m. Stroh, armed with a baseball bat, came out the back door and, according to Smith, threw the bat at a police officer and resisted arrest when officers attempted to handcuff him.
Stroh's wife sustained lacerations and contusions to her face and knees, but refused medical aid at the scene.
Stroh was charged with third-degree assault, second-degree attempted assault, third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, second-degree menacing, endangering the welfare of a child, resisting arrest and second-degree obstructing government administration. He was scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday in First District Court in Hempstead.
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