Teh One Who Knocks
04-28-2011, 04:29 PM
By ANDREW KNAPP - Florida Today
A man "outraged" at cars speeding past his Melbourne Beach home jumped onto his roof and waved what turned out to be an air rifle at a passers-by Wednesday, according to the police.
The incident that led to a standoff started just before 6 p.m. at the triangular intersection of Riverside Drive and Palm Avenue. That's when officers from the Melbourne Beach Police Department responded to callers who said a man was pounding a gardening tool against a stop sign.
When officers arrived, the man retreated to the roof of his house.
"He was upset -- yelling and screaming at people in the cars going by," Police Chief Dan Duncan said. "He was very upset at the speeders going down the road."
The police blocked the street and evacuated neighboring homes. The Indialantic Police Department and the Brevard County Sheriff's Office responded to help the town's police force.
After a few minutes of coaxing from officers, the man dropped his rifle -- later determined to be a BB gun. He retreated to a screened-in patio area, locking himself inside.
Duncan and other officers negotiated with the "rambling" man for an hour and managed to persuade him to give up around 6:30 p.m.
No one was injured.
The man was taken to Circles of Care Hospital in Melbourne for mental evaluation. His name was not released, and Duncan said he would not be charged. It wasn't immediately clear if the man was under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
"The guy was pretty out of it," Duncan said. "He had some obvious anger-management issues."
A man "outraged" at cars speeding past his Melbourne Beach home jumped onto his roof and waved what turned out to be an air rifle at a passers-by Wednesday, according to the police.
The incident that led to a standoff started just before 6 p.m. at the triangular intersection of Riverside Drive and Palm Avenue. That's when officers from the Melbourne Beach Police Department responded to callers who said a man was pounding a gardening tool against a stop sign.
When officers arrived, the man retreated to the roof of his house.
"He was upset -- yelling and screaming at people in the cars going by," Police Chief Dan Duncan said. "He was very upset at the speeders going down the road."
The police blocked the street and evacuated neighboring homes. The Indialantic Police Department and the Brevard County Sheriff's Office responded to help the town's police force.
After a few minutes of coaxing from officers, the man dropped his rifle -- later determined to be a BB gun. He retreated to a screened-in patio area, locking himself inside.
Duncan and other officers negotiated with the "rambling" man for an hour and managed to persuade him to give up around 6:30 p.m.
No one was injured.
The man was taken to Circles of Care Hospital in Melbourne for mental evaluation. His name was not released, and Duncan said he would not be charged. It wasn't immediately clear if the man was under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
"The guy was pretty out of it," Duncan said. "He had some obvious anger-management issues."