Police lay siege to Sydenham house

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32488, 24 December 1970, Page 1

Police lay siege to Sydenham house

A large number of police, including the armed offenders squad and dog handlers, cordoned off a block and surrounded a Sydenham house when a man was reported to be threatening his wife with a 303 rifle at 925 p.m. yesterday

During a siege which lasted more than two hours, the man was relieved of the .303 rifle, a .22 rifle, a Samuri sword, and a bayonet. He was arrested at 11.50 p.m.

Six members of the armed offenders squad and several uniformed men under Senior-Ser-geant T. B. Wallace arrived at the scene first, and found the man’s doctor and a neighbour talking to him. The police took up positions round the house, but did not immediately enter the room in which the man was.

The man was disarmed of the .303 when his wife grabbed the bolt. The neighbour passed the rifle out so’on afterwards, but the man still had the 22 rifle and the sword.

Road blocks were set up in surrounding streets, by police and traffic officers. Inspector T. V. Thomson set up a headquarters nearby. Spoke twice While the doctor and neighbour were talking to the man, his wife twice spoke by telephone to the Central Police Station. At 10.45 p.m., she said there was no ammunition and no bolt for the .22 rifle and that the doctor had the sword. At 11 p.m., however, she reported that he had the bayonet, and would not give it up. Superintendent W. R.

Fleming went to- the house at 11.30 p.m. Inspector W.

J. Perring had diverted traffic and pedestrians, after lifting the road blocks. By the time the man surrendered the bayonet and was arrested, most police in the area had withdrawn, and only a few were required to i divert pedestrians passing . the house.