The Sacramento Police Department released body-worn camera (BWC) video of SWAT officers rescuing a woman and children being held hostage by a man armed with a sword inside a home.
Sacramento Police Department SWAT officers confont a man armed with a sword and holding his family hostage.
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PHOTO: Sacramento Police Department
2 min to read
The Sacramento Police Department released a critical incident briefing including body-worn camera (BWC) video of SWAT officers rescuing a woman and children being held hostage by a man armed with a sword inside a home Aug 10. One officer fired multiple shots at the armed man wounding him, but then officers quickly rendered aid and he survived.
Initially, patrol officers responded to the report that a male suspect armed with a sword had barricaded himself inside his home with his wife and children. Patrol officers tried to make contact with the man for several hours but were unsuccessful, so SWAT and the Crisis Negotiation Team responded.
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A crisis negotiator spent more than two hours on the phone with the barricaded man while seeking a peaceful resolution. Audio from parts of those conversations are included in the critical incident briefing video released by police. When during negotiations police heard continued sounds of distress from the wife and threats from the suspect, a hostage rescue team entered the home.
SWAT officers breached the front door with a ram, moved upstairs to double doors locking a bedroom, then breached those doors also. In less than 30 seconds after breaching the exterior door and entering the home, officers had neutralized the threat.
“They encountered the suspect holding a long sword raised next to his wife and children. One officer fired their duty weapon striking the suspect,” says Officer Chad Lewis, public information officer.
After being shot, the suspect dropped the sword and fell to the floor. Officers immediately began assessing him for injuries and rendered medical aid by applying a tourniquet to his leg and packing a wound with gauze. Police report he is currently in stable condition and will be jailed on false imprisonment charges when he is released from the hospital.
No officers were injured in the hostage rescue and all hostages were unharmed, according to Lewis.
The sword used by a man to hold his family hostage is shown after SWAT officers rescued the hostages.
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