Galloway PD Standoff Over; Police Detain Man Who Had Machete

GALLOWAY, NJ — Police subdued a machete-wielding man after a three-and-a-half hour standoff Tuesday afternoon. Civilians around the man's 368 E Ridgewood Ave. home were notified, and nearby schools went into shelter-in-place protocol, police said.

Michael Piperato was eventually taken into custody and charged with unlawful possession of a weapon, terroristic threats and obstruction of justice, police said. No one was hurt.

Police received a call at 10:52 a.m. about a suicidal person at Piperato's address. Authorities arrived and said they saw him armed with a machete. Piperato, 29, walked away from the officers and in and out of the woods, police said.

Piperato also walked into neighboring yards as police negotiated with him. Police surrounded him as he walked. Piperato then made his way back home, where the standoff began, police said.

Civilians were alerted about the standoff through a Swift Reach notification. Galloway police updated posted updates on social media throughout the incident. Galloway PD announced at about 2:30 p.m. that the man was detained and everyone could resume normal activities.

Piperato was taken to the AtlantiCare Medical Center, Atlantic City Campus, for evaluation.

In a separate incident, Galloway police subdued a knife-wielding man following a three-hour standoff outside the Smithville Wawa in May. The man put his vehicle in drive and let it crash into the building, police said. Read more: Cops Subdue Man With Knives Outside Smithville Wawa: Police

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