craigdailypress.com

We're fortunate here in Craig not be subjected to too many incidents of violent crime -- at least not the kind where the violence spills into the streets and threatens innocent bystanders.

But the potential for such a situation occurred last week, when a young man armed with a sawed-off shotgun refused to come out of a house on Barclay Street.

Police mobilized quickly and secured the area. Some people didn't know what was going on when they came home July 26 and found police tape and barricades blocking the entrance to their street.

But officers worked hard to notify as many people as possible. They called neighboring residences and advised them of the situation. They told motorists and people on foot to avoid the area because a man with a weapon was holed up in a house.

They exercised restraint and put the public's safety first. There were no sudden moves. Everything was thoughtfully deliberated. And when the time was right, they fired tear gas into the house and arrested the suspect without incident.

The standoff reminded us that for a town our size, we get excellent service from law enforcement agencies in crisis situations.

Our officers are well trained, well equipped and well managed.

Perhaps, the biggest compliment came from Ted Crook, the father of the man holed up inside the house. He said police were "very professional" during the ordeal.

"The bottom line is no innocent citizens got hurt," Craig Police Sgt. Bill Leonard said a couple days after the incident.

It gave police an opportunity to review standoff protocol.

"You just go with the best plan and hope that it works," Leonard said.

Besides having a plan, police worked hard to communicate with the public about what was going on. A command center was established and press releases were issued in a timely manner so members of the media could do their job and keep the public informed that a dangerous situation was at hand.

We're thankful no one was hurt. And we think the police response had everything to do with that.