Brave Sheriff Breaches ‘Protocol’ to Bring Dramatic Hostage Situation to an End

A man barricaded himself inside a home in Pontiac, Michigan, on Tuesday, holding two children hostage with a large knife. But the stand-off, which certainly had the potential to turn deadly, ended peacefully thanks to a brave sheriff’s actions.

The suspect reportedly ran into the home in order to evade arrest. The man, a parolee, feared being arrested after he learned the Michigan Department of Corrections was planning to visit him as part of a welfare check, WXYZ-TV reported.

WXYZ-TV

The two children he held hostage were apparently his nieces.

Oakland County Sheriff Michel Bouchard eventually entered the home to negotiate with the man, eventually disarming himself to keep the suspect calm.

Unarmed and face-to-face with an armed hostage taker, Bouchard somehow managed to talk the man down, convincing get him to throw away his knife and let the kids go. Police were able to arrest him without any one getting injured.

“I know I breached a lot of protocol and made a few people nervous, but I felt that after I chatted with his mother, that between his mother and I, we could diffuse the situation,” Bouchard told WXYZ-TV.

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