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two officers arrive on the scene of an ordinary disturbance call a man is threatening his neighbors however in
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just a moment the situation will escalate into something much worse does he have any knives any knives
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guns have gun the suspect is armed hey we're going to block the main entrance right here my neighbor threaten to me
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threaten me threat police I have it on video we have deployed a SWAT team on route
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to step out slow shot out move move on March 11th 2023 a peaceful morning descended into chaos in Steel
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Creek Charlotte as one man began a campaign of Terror that has put an entire neighborhood in danger but to
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understand how police got this schizophrenic man under control we need to take a look at every tactic and
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technique the SWAT team used throughout the 30-hour standoff it started at 6:45 a.m. on Saturday morning when on Thai
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walked into his front garden megaphone in hand and threatened to kill his neighbors on Grier Fork Drive the clock
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started immediately when 911 started receiving calls from some of those neighbors my neighbors threatened me
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threaten to kill me threaten to kill police I have it on video we're scared okay and when you say he's threatening
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you he you doing in person on the phone phone with a megaphone he's out in front
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of his yard Charlotte 911 I need police I need to file communicating threats report I'm
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working with cmpd um crisis response team and um our neighbor is threatening us currently community polic and crisis
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response team helps mediate disputes between neighbors and can often settle arguments without having to call 911
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they specialize in people who have behavioral problems or those with substance abuse and they've been
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involved with Tai on no less than 13 other occasions after his threatening behavior towards his neighbors
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unfortunately this situation is much too serious for the cmpd this time and the police have to step in for what will be
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their 47th interaction with Tai he's at the door on a megaphone yelling what one here we
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go good morning door has a warrant for his arrest I don't know because I'm we have
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to take him does he have any knives any knives guns he have gun fit the gun have the SI
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six yeah uh revolver yeah he has that yeah we're going to try to get out of his range in case he shoots he can't see
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us to shoot in order to make sure the cops have the right information they're going to need to break down the language
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barrier so her daughter is soon on the phone helping to translate for the officers ensuring the cops can properly
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assess the gravity of the situation without second guessing themselves who is this my oh hello hello hi hey this is
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Officer Miller with Charlotte Police we're just trying to clarify what the language barrier for your mom but um an
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has a order for his arrest to go to jail she's advising that he has what we can best tell is a revolver a gun I just
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want to confirm that he does have that with your mom if you if you can ask her if he does have a gun yes yes of course
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all right go ahead so she says that he does have a revolver in his does he have bullets in the revolver is it loaded yes
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loaded she was trying to explain another um possible weapon and I couldn't understand what she was saying so can
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you ask her if he has any other weapons that's he has a basb bag and what kind dog does he have there's two dogs in
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there um he like a mediumsized dog and the other one is like a small now the cops have a much better
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picture of what they're facing they know that Tai has a gun and it's loaded they
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suspect he has a dog in there with him and although the mother claims it won't bite these cops can't take any chances
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Ty also has a warrant out for his arrest for communicating threats in another incident making this a criminal
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barricade the difference between between a criminal barricade and a non-criminal
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barricade is simple a non-criminal barricade usually means a suspect isn't wanted for a crime and is often a case
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of a suicidal suspect a criminal barricade means the suspect is wanted for a crime is a possible danger to
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others and needs a drastically different approach these cops don't have access to
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the resources this kind of response will need and SWAT is called in to take over
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this standoff SWAT has an arsenal of armored vehicles at their disposal as well as riot shields expert negotiators
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and specific training to deal with this exact kind of situation but just because
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SWAT has been called doesn't mean the negotiations sto there as police continue to try and convince Ty to hand
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himself in while they wait for the team to arrive Mr Ty this is Charlotte mcber Police Department we're outside Mr Ty I
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need you to come outside we're not going anywhere we need you to step outside with your hands up
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Ty already has a warrant out for his arrest for communicating threats in another incident and police know he's
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highly strong potentially violent and extremely unpredictable if they're going to talk him out of the house they're
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going to have to convince him there's no danger it it would help me understand this a lot better if we were talking
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face to face dude are you gonna kill me no that I'm not are you gonna put me in handcuffs yes I will have to put you in
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handcuffs you're not going to let me back to my house you're take me somewhere far away listen you you do
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have a warrant yes for communicating threats okay that's why we're here yes and I can change my identity we have to
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serve that warrant okay that's just me my name is King I'm not in the business of lying okay I don't want to lie to you
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I don't want to steer you in the wrong direction all right the trouble that you're in is very minor okay it's not a
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big deal by reassuring him that he won't be hurt if he surrenders The Negotiator
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can try to prevent the situation escalating or even turning violent during negotiations like these police
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will try to deescalate the situation and keep the suspect as calm as possible but
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in this case Tai seems so unhinged that there's no way they can make him see reason if things deteriorate any further
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it's possible Tai might make good on his threats and this situation could turn deadly nobody wants to kill you I
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promise you that I do not want to harm you and no officer out here wants to hurt you that I can promise you
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Take Me Alive no nobody wants to harm you and we don't want you to harm yourself all right This
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Is War dude you my door this is not war everyone right no we do not want you to hurt yourself it seems peaceful
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negotiations aren't working as no matter what the negotiator tries Tai just won't
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cooperate become uh very consistent that he will not leave that home it's just circles circles circles man like it's uh
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it always yeah it always circles back around to I'm going to K myself or you're going to kill me period I'm not
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coming out of this house I'm going to die today with Tai armed barricaded in his house and threatening to kill people
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the police need to keep him calm and deescalate the situation until backup arrives shortly afterwards the SWAT team
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finally arrives at the scene to bring this standoff to an end hey get your people ready and have a
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he ready want me to trying to push the robot up see if I can get over [Music] stuff the SWAT team finally at the scene
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they can get a better look at their surroundings by sending in robots and drones but they first need to find the
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best place to gain entry into the house which in this case is right through the front
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door 239 or I will call you I just need you to answer your phone this is very important nobody is here to
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hurt you we are only here to help your mother's worried about you we are here to make sure that you
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get the help you need by breaching the door the SWAT team is trying to see inside the house if Tai isn't willing to
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negotiate then SWAT may have to force their way inside and face Tai in his own home but this just agitates Ates Tai
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further and he closes the door in defiance once again SWAT has no idea what's waiting for them inside so they
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decide to break down the door again only this time they intend to rip it right off its hinges although this has made it
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easier for SWAT to enter the house the negotiator's job is about to get even harder as breaching the door has only
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agitated Tai further and this standoff is threatening to spiral out of control I want to myself I'm not going to be
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here and be by godd I don't even leave me alone let me control the voice literally the voice is controlling
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me man you are stronger than that I'm you controlled the voice listen I have faith that you can control that voice
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okay okay then let me do it get this voice out go to no don't let that Voice win I have no control over my
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mind dude I'm telling you I'm under mind control you are stronger than that okay you can
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do it and I we can help you this could be some kind of manic episode Ty is experiencing as he's definitely not of
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sound mind especially when he's talking about voices controlling him he's angry that his mother's front door has been
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destroyed and the cops know they've made him mad their priority is to try and deescalate the situation so they try and
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convince him they'll fix the door after he hands himself in but Tai's reaction is not what the cops were hoping
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for I I spent an hour telling you that was going to happen can't live here no more the door can easily be fixed po
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it's only me my mother who's going to take care of your mother if you harm yourself I'm not let you take me alive I
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can give your mother a number to our risk management and our risk management can help fix the door okay and we all
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know that like no body's hurt nobody said you're acting like an idiot listen well
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you act like an idiot BR my door and I told you we were going to do it he hang up on
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you we're now 5 hours into this standoff and the house is completely surrounded on the sidelines police are trying to
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obtain an involuntary commitment order these are issued to individuals who are experiencing mental health problems that
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impair their ability to reason this would be the third time on taii has been issued with an involuntary commitment in
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order but despite how serious the situation is they still can't enter the house without a search warrant this is
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often a long process but in this case it only took a couple of hours after convincing a judge the warrant was
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absolutely necessary to help bring this standoff to an end so now 8 hours into this standoff and with the search
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warrant in hand SWAT started their meticulous operation to clear any obstacles from their path a process they
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call tactical breaching you be trying to rule my house you have no legal right tactical
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breaching is more than just breaking down windows and doors as it allows easy access to the house and allows police to
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see inside the house but it's still not safe for the officers to enter the house
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as Tai is still hiding and armed with a Gun there's only one way to see inside the house without putting lives at risk
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by using the latest technology to their advantage like drones and robots all right we're going to send we're sending
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the robot in up the steps if you can get run all the time I'm in the living room
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so I had to go through the garage okay all right sir well hope you'll get the Drone up so this is what the living room
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looks like police robots have been around for decades but are limited to low ground
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with thae hiding upstairs police need to utilize one of the newer members of the
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team the Drone first developed for military purposes drones have become increasingly more popular with police
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departments all across America just like here in Charlotte I'm doing what I can to push all
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through robot's in the laundry room a lot of junk though trying to push the stuff out the
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wayar to she's got to go all the way around drones can reach places people can't and give police a bird's eye view
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of the upstairs of the house without a single officer being put In Harm's Way it also shows how quickly a situation
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can go from quiet to dangerous in the blink of an I I could try to push it through the
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front door but I can't promise anything that drone has just been destroyed but now police know exactly which room he's
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hiding out in after a second drone is destroyed Tai suddenly appears at the front door of the house and he's armed
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with a handgun what he might not realize is he's in the targets of several Sharpshooters who are scattered around
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the area with various views of the house ready to fire if Tai presents a threat to them their fellow officers or anyone
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else in the area he's trying to put the door back up it looks like gun in his left
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hand shot out shot he went back up the steps that was just a warning shot after one of the
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Sharpshooters perceived Tai to be a genuine threat but the warning shot did its job and Tai retreated back into the
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house after he returned upstairs he called 911 initially claiming he'd been shot it turns out he was lying but
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during the same call he told police he was no longer on tie and had become Lucifer 911 I saw the police shot uh a
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person because he was holding a gun reping at police and the police shot him he's dead I need to make a police report
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okay well where you at so we can make that report I'm in heaven oh okay go yes my name is Lucifer this was one of four
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different personalities he's taken on over the course of this standoff and in order to keep him talking police will
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play along and call him Lucifer but any hopes that they have of ending this standoff before nightfall are slipping
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away as negotiations come to a standstill this is Lucifer can I help you Lucifer yeah this is Hong you okay I
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know you are yeah I'm an angel of God I want to help you Lucifer Lucifer where are
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you went Tai may be in need of the kind of medical help that these cops can't give
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him but that doesn't make the situation any less dangerous it's now 10 hours into this standoff and the Tactical
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breaching continues two vehicles in the driveway are removed to prevent the suspect from making a quick getaway and
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more windows are breached around the house as the standoff goes into the night where Tai continues with his
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bizarre exchanges with negotiators take all out I'm tell you I'm an anarchy I don't met nothing you leave get out of
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my house I don't need it to leave stop talking to be okay I don't talk to the police yeah stand by I don't need the
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Poli open kind of looking out talk you are doing is illegal I have the right to practice
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religion leave me alone this incident has now been going on for over 13 hours and tactical breaching has removed most
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of the doors and windows negotiations continued into the next morning but they couldn't get tied to give himself up so
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SWAT turned to their arsenal of other tactics to continue the effort to bring this stand off to an end peacefully
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including the smoke grenade all right ready [Music] [Music] kind of whass throw was that smoke
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grenades can help create a visual barrier and disorient a suspect the sudden sharp sensory overload can lower
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the suspect's will to resist and encourage them to surrender peacefully but the SWAT team isn't done yet and
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decides to enter the house to cut the power off good y all right move sh [Applause]
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this tactic serves two purposes firstly it solves some of these safety concerns as electrical equipment and lights will
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be deactivated to prevent accidental fires or explosions especially when the suspect has Firearms with the house now
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a complete wreck a small fire could prove disastrous and engulf the whole house in minutes cutting the power also
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adds psychological pressure as removing electrical equipment the suspect may be using could leave them feeling isolated
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and alone especially during the night but despite their best efforts Tai refused to leave the house at all and it
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was starting to look like this standoff might never end but then at 1:18 p.m. an
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hour after they cut the power Tai was seen coming downstairs this is the moment SWAT tried to bring this stand
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off to an end with the help of OC powder chemical munition better known as tear gas the effects of tear gas on the body
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included unbearable burning sensation in your eyes nose and on your skin this is
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exactly the kind of experience that was waiting for Tai if he went back upstairs
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where they've just fired it for the first time since this 30-hour standoff began this prompted Tai to come out of
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the house and confront SWAT face to face police will always try to achieve a peaceful resolution in cases like these
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but as they have been for the last two days they'll be ready to shoot if Tai opens fire I got you I got you I promise
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you're good come on yeah stay on the phone you can stay on the phone come to us come on no no come on you're good
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come on come on Sirah I got you come on to me just be careful you're good come on yep keep walk yeah come on you keep
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keep walking you're good bring the dog with you come on myg oh we're not Brother come on yeah your dog's good
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come on okay yep hey I'll take over a veral so you can make a call on the other side
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keep coming to usot we're not going to shoot you you keep coming to us you're doing
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good just you're fine keep walking towards us keep your hands ready you're good you're good we see your dog we see
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your phone you're good auntie keep walking towards us brother you're you're doing good can we move he's facing away
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banging and move move move get on the ground I'm coming don't kill my dog I'm coming I'm
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coming don't kill my dog please I'm coming my back that's the handgun he'd been concealing in his clothing and could
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have been used at any moment this is a perfect example of a SWAT team who did everything by the book and achieved
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their goal of a peaceful arrest it may have taken 30 hours for this to end but by choosing the right moment they
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brought this neighborhood's ordeal to an end with only one bullet fired and zero
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casualties