What’s believed to be the longest police standoff in Sioux City history ended with a man’s surrender in his home about eight o’clock last night (Wednesday), some 23 hours after the incident started. The standoff began around nine Tuesday night and the ensuing hours saw police employ tear gas, flash-bang grenades and a remote-controlled robot borrowed from the Des Moines Police Department, tactics that all failed.
Sioux City police chief Joe Frisbee says negotiations and patience led to the peaceful resolution. Chief Frisbee names the suspect as 39-year-old Michael Thurber who was taken into custody and then to a Sioux City hospital for observation and a mental evaluation.
Chief Frisbee says everyone was glad to see the long incident come to an end as it did. Frisbee says it was a “spicy-dicey deal towards the end” but all issues were resolved and the negotiations worked the way they’d hoped and brought a peaceful conclusion to the incident with no one hurt.