Johnson City Standoff: Man Surrendered By Climbing Down Ladder

Loud applause rang out in a Johnson City neighborhood after a lengthy standoff involving a despondent person ended peacefully.

Village police chief Brent Dodge said he appreciated the spontaneous reaction of nearby residents as the man left the second floor of an Endicott Avenue house and climbed down a ladder. Dodge said that was the only way out because the man had barricaded other exits from the house.

A man surrendered to police by exiting through this window and climbing down a fire department ladder on May 25, 2021. (Photo: Bob Joseph/WNBF News)

The 39-year-old man surrendered Tuesday evening following negotiations that occurred over a period of nearly seven hours.

Dodge said as neighbors watched the man being led to a waiting ambulance, "they all broke out in applause."

Speaking on WNBF Radio's Binghamton Now program, Dodge said "that kind of struck me... in appreciation for the job we had done." The police chief said he spent some time talking with nearby residents before he left the scene.

Dodge said the reaction of neighbors "was kind of uplifting to me" during a time of sometimes-strained relations between police and the public.

A SWAT team on Endicott Avenue in Johnson City on May 25, 2021. (Photo: Bob Joseph/WNBF News)

Although police were concerned the man may have had a gun, Dodge said no weapons were found after the apartment house was searched.

The man was treated for minor self-inflicted cuts. The police chief said the situation was being treated as a "severe mental health crisis" and no charges were being filed related to the standoff.

The police chief said a range of less-than-lethal options were available to officers, including tasers, pepper balls and bean bag rounds. He said "thankfully, we didn't have to use any of it."

A box of bean bag shotgun shells in a trash can outside 74 Endicott Avenue on May 26, 2021. (Photo: Bob Joseph/WNBF News)