East Austin SWAT Standoff Ends Peacefully After Barricaded Person Exits Home

EAST AUSTIN, TX — A resident's standoff with a police SWAT team ended peacefully Thursday afternoon when the person who had barricaded himself at his home exited the dwelling and placed in custody.

The standoff ended without incident at around 4:30 p.m. Thursday along the 1600 block of East 10th St. While police coaxed the person out, several surrounding streets were blocked off as police urged people to avoid the area.

It's unclear what led to the police presence or what charges, if any, the resident was issued by police.

In what could be viewed as an abundance of caution, Austin police react to a non-responding person with a full array of tactical gear and numerous officers at the scene. More often than not, such incidents end peacefully but pose an inconvenience for surrounding residents not allowed to come and go — sometimes for hours at a time — during such encounters.

Thursday's SWAT call was the third in the past few days. Last Friday (Jan. 27), officers were called to the 11400 block of Chicon at about 9:36 a.m. after a subject refused to exit a home. A spokeswoman didn't indicate why the subject was sought by police, other than saying their presence was sparked by a caller asking for police to check on the person's welfare.

After three hours, the person barricaded inside the apartment emerged, bringing the situation to a peaceful end.

Two days after that incident, the SWAT team was dispatched at about 8: 15 p.m. to the 8200 block of West Gate Boulevard in South Austin in response to a person said to have been suicidal. After several hours of police negotiating for the resident's exit, the subject emerged from the dwelling located between William Cannon Drive and Davis Lane.

Several hours later the person came out without incident and taken into custody. No injuries were reported.

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