East Austin SWAT Standoff Ends Peacefully (Updated)

EAST AUSTIN, TEXAS — A police SWAT team was dispatched to East Austin Thursday evening to arrest a suspect wanted on an outstanding larceny warrant, police said.

The incident began just past 6 p.m. along the 1200 block of Delano Street when police attempted to serve the warrant to a male suspect who instead barricaded himself inside the home. Claiming they believed the man could have a weapon, Austin Police Department spokeswoman Destiny Winston told reporters the decision to send out a SWAT team was made to further entice the man to surrender.

During the hours-long standoff, area streets — including Fort Branch Boulevard and Hudson Street — were closed to traffic while nearby residents were evacuated from their homes as added precautions, Winston said.

Some three hours later, the many surrendered without incident and promptly placed under arrest, the police spokeswoman said. Another man that was inside the building during the standoff was detained as part of the investigation but not placed under arrest, she added.

Despite reports of the suspect having possibly had a weapon — the very reason why the SWAT team was called out in the first place — Winston declined to specify if any weapon was found in the aftermath of the incident, citing the ongoing nature of the investigation.

Thursday's incident was the second time in as many days the APD dispatched its SWAT arsenal and crew to coax a person from outside a building. On Wednesday in North Austin, a man reported to have been in some sort of mental crisis prompted the show of police force and SWAT members along the 4300 block of South 1st Street.

Like Thursday's action, the police response the prior day prompted multiple street closures and evacuation of a nearby restaurant as police attempted to convince the man to exit the building. After about three hours, that incident also was resolved peacefully, leading to the man's hospitalization for medical observation. And like Thursday's event, police declined to indicate whether a weapon was found at the building after having sent out its SWAT team amid vague accounts the person could have been armed.

From earlier:

EAST AUSTIN, TEXAS — Austin Police Department officers were dispatched to East Austin on Thursday evening on a SWAT call — typically a response when a person is barricaded inside a building.

Yet the details were unknown as of 9 p.m. Thursday, an hour after police were called to the scene. The site of the incident is along the 1200 block of Delano Street. Police were advising residents to avoid the scene while the potential standoff continues.

When SWAT teams are called to an incident, police deploy the full range of military-style gear to coax barricaded people to come out of buildings — armored vehicles, high-powered firearms, door-breaching robots, battering rams, and more. Invariably, police justify the show of force in the aftermath of such incidents by vaguely referencing reports of the person possibly having a weapon.

Such SWAT incidents can often take hours before a resolution. In the interim, nearby residents are unable to leave their homes as streets are cordoned off. Typically, an officer will intermittently shout commands for the person to exit the building through the use of a bullhorn.

The incident marks the second time in as many days police have responded to a call with full SWAT gear. In South Austin on Wednesday evening, police descended in force to a home in North Austin amid reports of a man in crisis who refused to exit a building. The incident along the 4300 block of South 1st Street prompted multiple street closures and evacuation of a nearby restaurant as police attempted to coax the man to exit the building.

After three hours, the man vacated the building without incident before being taken to the hospital for medical observation. Although a police spokeswoman said there had been reports the man had a weapon, possession of a firearm was not confirmed at a subsequent press briefing.

Related story: Standoff With Man In Crisis Prompts South Austin Street Closures

Patch will update this story contingent on the availability of more details from police. In a tweet, police indicated a press briefing would be staged at a location near the SWAT call.

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