THUNDER BAY — High-profile policing incidents in Thunder Bay aren't uncommon to residents.
However, long-lasting ones aren't the norm, especially when it's a standoff situation that involves a hostage.
On the morning of July 4, Thunder Bay Police Service (TBPS) responded to a call at a building on Cumberland Street after receiving reports of a weapons incident.
For almost 15 hours, both city police and Ontario Provincial Police were involved in trying to resolve the incident peacefully.
OPP were called in to assist after it was made clear it was a standoff and because it was also deemed a hostage situation.
Provincial Const. Joel Eppinghaus, who specializes as a crisis negotiator for the OPP Northwest Region, was on shift and responded to the incident.
While he couldn't speak to specifics regarding the case as it is now before the courts, Eppinghaus was able to provide some insight into these types of situations.
He said it's not unusual for police agencies to collaborate on certain types of incidents.
Eppinghaus spoke about how police do their best to keep everyone safe at the scene.
"There was a firearm involved, which creates a different level of stress for not only the police but also the public who live in the area and work in the area as well," he said.
"We understand that the frustrations people are bringing forward in regards to the closures of multiple streets within a large radius, people being asked to shelter in place in their residence or their business. We get that that can be frustrating and upsetting at times."
The constable added that in these types of situations, those are the normal responses for police to roll out for the public's safety, as well as trying to ensure the safety of officers, suspects and any victims at the scene.
Eppinghaus touched on public commentary that police could do certain things that would force a resolution, something they don't want to do.
"We're not trying to force a conclusion because that could result in injury or worse, death of someone involved, whether it's the public, the police, or hostage or suspect, and that's the last thing that any one of us want."
After more than 14 hours at the scene, there was a peaceful resolution to the incident.
"That's one thing we have to consider and just on that day, we all walked away," the officer said.
"[Officers] high-fiving and shaking hands and giving hugs to one another because it was such a peaceful resolution and just to see that level of teamwork from multiple police agencies, it was just so seamless."
Eppinghaus acknowledged the work that city police did when first arriving to call for service.
"Thank you to Thunder Bay city police for doing such a phenomenal job at taking the first response to this and recognizing the level of severity that was involved in this investigation. Although we had a multitude of policing partners there, everyone did a seamless job, and it just goes back to our level of training.
It just goes back to the way we're trained, and your training really does kick in when you're at these high-level incidents."
By 11 p.m. the suspect was arrested several hours after the hostage was released. There were no reported injuries.
Newswatch requested an interview from Thunder Bay police. No one was made available by the publishing deadline.
