Officers pretend to be news crew to arrest suspect in hostage situation – Law Officer

TROY, N.Y. — Officers of the Troy Police Department in New York got creative by pretending to be a news crew when arresting a hostage taker late Thursday night.

Troy patrol officers responded to a reported hostage situation at the Stewart’s Shop on Vandenburgh Avenue about 11:14 p.m. Responding officers noted there was significant damage to the front of the building and saw two male employees in the store with another male individual.

The suspect inside the building with the employees was standing behind the counter, and officers were able to see that he was holding a pair of scissors to the throat of one employee, ABC NEWS10 reported.

Officers secured the area and requested a response from the Crisis Negotiation Team.

CNT personnel quickly arrived and began communicating with the suspect through the broken front door. After several minutes, the suspect allowed one of the employees to leave while continuing to hold the weapon (scissors) to the second employee’s throat.

Negotiations continued for another hour and the suspect agreed to release the second hostage and put down the weapon.

However, the subsequent surrender and hostage release occurred after law enforcement officers staged a phony on-camera segment, which was facilitated by NEWS10 photographer Ken Rader.

One officer dressed as a cameraman as police used the ruse to get the suspect to drop his guard in order to deescalate the situation.

“We commandeered their camera, we made sure that it was not actually recording but that the top spotlight was on there,” Sgt. Nicholas Laviano said. “We dressed up one of our officers as a cameraman and we walked up to the entrance with myself and Officer Fitch and began to, what he believed, was record him and allow him to tell his story that he wished to get out there.”

The tactic allowed officers to peacefully remove the troubled suspect from the scene and take him to a hospital for a mental health evaluation, although police said criminal charges are pending.

The business location and hostages appear to have been selected at random, police said.

Troy Police Capt. Raymond White praised the work by CNT members. No one was injured and he believes they achieved the best possible outcome, according to the news outlet. 

“What we can do is help deescalate the situation in a non-violent way,” Laviano said. “Even if we have to sit there for two, three, four hours and continue to talk to that individual and we were ready and willing to do that with this individual. There are some times where we get on a call and we are not so sure where it might end.”

The owners of Stewart’s Shop released a statement that said, “We are happy that our Partners involved are safe. We can’t thank the first responders and the Troy PD enough for their prompt response and swift action to deescalate the situation. The safety and well-being of our Partners is always a top priority.”