STORY UPDATE:
Sioux City Police Chief Rex Mueller praised how his officers handled a standoff that played out near Heelan High School on Thursday Morning.
Authorities say the suspect, who was already handcuffed in the back of a squad car, said he had a gun and planned to hurt himself.
Officers backed off and started negotiating with the man. Shots were fired from inside the car, and a team moved in with chemical munitions.
The suspect, identified as 36-year-old Emanual Pleitez, broke out a window to get out of the car before turning himself in. He went to the hospital for treatment of cuts and chemical exposure.
An investigation into the incident is underway. Police chief Rex Mueller says this is an example of the dangers officers face daily, especially since the suspect was armed with a micro-sized handgun.
U.S. Representative Randy Feenstra was visiting Heelan at the start of the incident. He quickly left the school.
News release from Sioux City Police surrounding the original arrest of the standoff suspect:
On February 10 at 11:33 a.m. a detective and officers with the Sioux City Police Department located an armed robbery suspect at 14th and Summit St. in Sioux City.
The suspect, who was identified as 36-year-old Emanuel L. Pleitez, was detained by officers to be transported the police station for questioning.
Officers handcuffed Pleitez behind his back and patted him down before placing him in the back of a patrol car.
While driving to the station, in the 1100 block of Grandview, Pleitez told the officer that he had a gun and was going to shoot.
The officer, who was by herself, immediately stopped her car and requested assistance. When another officer arrived on scene, they looked in the back seat and saw that Pleitez, who was still handcuffed behind his back, was armed with a sub-compact style handgun.
Officers backed away and established a perimeter as there was no safe way to remove Pleitez from the car. As additional resources arrived, trained Crisis Negotiators began speaking with him.
As this incident was occurring near a high school, the department contacted the school as a precaution and requested that they shelter in place so that a student would not wander out of the school and into the scene active incident scene.
Negotiations continued for over an hour to get Pleitez to drop the gun and surrender. When it appeared that negotiations were not working, officers and a Woodbury County Deputy approached the car in order to deploy a chemical munition.
As officers neared the car, Pleitez said he was going to shoot and shots could be heard coming from within the car. Officers deployed tear gas into the car through a window he had broken out. Within seconds, he surrendered without further resistance.
Previous story:
A standoff between Sioux City police and an armed robbery suspect forced the lockdown of Bishop Heelan High School Thursday morning.
Police Spokesperson Jeremy McClure says around 11:45 this morning, the suspect, who was already handcuffed in the back of a squad car, said he had a gun and planned to hurt himself.
Officers backed away, started negotiating with the man, and even brought his family in to try and help.
“Ultimately, he became more agitated, the tactical unit moved up to him, a shot went off, so officers used chemical munitions on him, he then gave up peacefully.”
No one was seriously hurt, and the lockdown ended after about an hour. The suspect was treated for chemical explore and a few cuts.
“We wanted to keep this as safe as possible to get his willful cooperation.”
An investigation is underway.
This incident happened at the same time U.S. Representative Randy Feenstra was visiting Heelan. He quickly left the school shortly after the standoff started near 14th and Grandview.