At about 3:15 p.m. this afternoon, heavily armed police officers blocked off Whittier Street downtown.
Just before 3 p.m., I happened upon a police officer crouched behind the wheel well of a gray SUV blocking an access point to the Driftwood Hotel parking lot downtown.
I asked if everything was under control.
“No. I would definitely go back behind the building for now,” the officer said.
The officer had an assault rifle and was facing the Driftwood lobby about 75 feet away.
The Juneau Police Department tweeted that officers were at the Driftwood Hotel “for a suicidal male with a firearm. Stay out of the area until everything is safely resolved.”
JPD Officers are at the Driftwood Hotel for a suicidal male with a firearm. Stay out of the area until everything is safely resolved.
— Juneau Police Dept. (@JuneauPD) December 17, 2016
At least a half-dozen marked and unmarked police cars were blocking off the entire parking lot, and officers were clearing the area.
Joe Manning is the kitchen manager at the Sandpiper Café, next door to the lodge. The café closes up at 2 p.m. He said he was finishing up his shift and then, “All of a sudden at the end of my day, I was surrounded.”
Later, the police department tweeted that the man was taken into custody.
At 3:35 PM, the male was taken into custody. Thank you for staying out of the area until the situation was resolved.
— Juneau Police Dept. (@JuneauPD) December 17, 2016
In a press release, the police department said negotiators talked with the man, then he was Tasered, taken into custody, and then to Bartlett Regional Hospital.
Shortly before 4 p.m., Whittier was reopened.
