April 2017 Catch

DOUG BUELTEL

K-9 GERO

EVANSVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT

On 04-14-2017, Officers were dispatched to 1805 S Governor St for a disorderly conduct run at 0107 hrs. Dispatch advised that there was a male on the phone whispering that Eric Williams was back causing problems and broke in the door to the residence. There was a previous run a short time before this run where Williams was there, but Williams had left before police arrived. It was confirmed that Williams had a Felony PTR Warrant. The caller kept whispering, but didn’t provide much info. The caller didn’t know if Williams had a weapon. The caller did say that he, his wife, and three kids were also in the house.

K-9 Gero and I arrived a few minutes later and approached the back of the house from the west. We could see the caller in the back window from outside the privacy fence. Other units were also on scene and we had a perimeter around the house very quickly. An officer at the front of the house saw the front door open, but then quickly shut. Officers then tried to have dispatch have the caller and kids walk out the front, but the caller said that they were scared of Williams and he knew the police were there now. Officers then knocked at the front door. The caller (identified as Chad Ellis who also had a felony warrant) was then able to walk out and open the front door and exit the residence. About a minute or so later, officers were able to call out the wife and children and escorted them away from the residence. Officers then held the entry area until K-9 Gero and I approached after formulating a plan of action with Sgt. Fair.

At approximately 0158 hrs, I started to yell K-9 warnings to come out or you would be bit. I yelled two warnings and after getting no response, I sent Gero in to clear the closet area in front of us. Gero also did a quick check of the bedroom, but I didn’t detail him in the room. We then checked the remaining rooms of the house. While waiting for the Bear Cat to arrive with more gear, I took Gero back through the rooms to do a more detailed check of drawers and cabinets and any potential hiding holes. After going back into the bedroom, Gero had a change in breathing near a cabinet/dresser. We couldn’t get the left side to open, but I saw a hand through a small opening on the door. I then yelled for Williams to get out several times or I would send my dog in. Williams didn’t say anything or respond in any way. After getting no response and not knowing if Williams was armed, I let K-9 Gero attempt to get Williams out, but the door appeared to be locked from the inside. After a short time, I backed K-9 Gero off and we again yelled to get out. We finally got a response from Williams and he came out and complied with our commands.

Williams was placed in custody at 0211 hrs. After taking Williams out of the room, we found out that there was a latch inside on the left side of the cabinet/dresser. Williams was then transported to VCCC.

Respectfully submitted,

Sgt. Hoover

Evansville K9 Unit