thedrifter
12-02-06, 07:02 PM
Jacksonville Police Negotiator Is Always Ready To Talk
UPDATED: 5:12 pm EST December 2, 2006
JACKSONVILLE, N.C. -- A 21-year-old Marine was locked in his New River Drive apartment threatening to kill himself and his animals.
Jacksonville police received the information at about 3 a.m. on a hot summer morning last year. Detective and crisis negotiator Len Condry didn't know much more than that when he along with Steve Pierson, his backup negotiator at the time, and the department's SWAT team were activated.
"It was the hardest one I've ever done," said Condry, who has successfully negotiated his way through more than 50 crisis situations in the past 13 years. "It was probably one of the most serious ones, too."
The Marine's family, who live in Virginia, contacted police because he was threatening suicide. As they headed to Jacksonville, Condry started negotiating. He ran down the battery on one cell phone and was working on a second during more than six hours of conversations with the Marine, who was attached to 2nd Force Service and Support Group.
The Marine spent a long time just communicating through text messages. As information unfolded, Condry's concern grew. He learned the Marine was assigned to morgue detail during his deployment to Iraq from February 2004 to March 2005.
"He put the bodies in the bags to be shipped home," Condry said.
It was a job that typically lasted six months before Marines were rotated into another position. But the 21-year-old worked in the morgue his entire time in Iraq. Condry slowly learned just how much the experience had impacted the young Marine.
"He just wanted to die, and he didn't have the ability to do it himself," Condry said.
Condry, who has worked for the Jacksonville Police Department for seven years and worked for the Onslow County Sheriff's Department before that, is one of three trained hostage negotiators on the force along with officers Jamie Garcia and Daisy Haywood.
Although trained in basic, intermediate and advanced negotiating, Condry has never dealt with a hostage situation.
"In bigger cities, hostage-taking happens more than in smaller cities," Condry said. "Usually, I'm dealing with barricaded subjects who are suicidal or people who just don't want to surrender to police."
Regardless of whether the barricaded person is alone or with other people, the same principles apply.
"You want to get them to surrender without anyone getting hurt," Condry said. "Sometimes that happens fast. Sometimes it takes hours, and sometimes it doesn't happen at all."
Only one of Condry's negotiations was unsuccessful. The incident happened in October when 20-year-old Jonathan Skipper, who was accused of robbing a Dynamic Cab driver, hid inside a bathroom in a Liberty Crossing apartment.
Police were given information that Skipper was in one of the back rooms of the apartment. Condry spent about 30 minutes trying to lure Skipper out but received no response. The SWAT team went in and arrested him in connection to the robbery.
Situations requiring negotiation are intense. In some cases, Condry knows he's dealing with people who are seeking "suicide by cop" _ purposely putting themselves in standoff situations because they are unable to go through with a decision to kill themselves. Getting into their heads and finding the right words to get them out to safety is Condry's mission.
"You develop a weird relationship because you are working on an intense level," Condry said. "You have to be guarded and make sure you remain objective."
That works in theory, but when Condry's deep into a negotiation, it's challenging.
As Condry learned about the 21-year-old Marine's history and his job duties in Iraq, it was easy to feel his pain. Condry has twin sons who are almost the same age. One is a Navy corpsman serving in Iraq.
"I could see one of my kids going through that," Condry said.
It was emotionally difficult. It's also why there is a backup negotiator on hand. Last year, Pierson, who no longer works for the police department, was the negotiator Condry relied on.
"He did a phenomenal job keeping me balanced," Condry said. "You always have a backup. He's your scribe. He takes notes and offers suggestions. Steve Pierson was the best I ever worked with. I started getting frustrated. He would tell me to calm down."
When Condry walks into a situation, he never knows how long it will take to win someone's trust.
"It could take five minutes or five hours," Condry said.
Some negotiations are awkward.
He spent one lying on his stomach on a concrete driveway talking to a man wielding an ax in a garage. It was on Police Chief Mike Yaniero's first day on the job in October 2004. The garage door was open a little bit, and Condry was trying to keep the conversation going. At the time, the police department didn't own any plastic throw phones commonly used during negotiations. The phones are helpful because the negotiator keeps one and the other goes to the barricaded person.
Condry talked the man out of the garage. After that situation, Yaniero made sure the department purchased plastic throw phones.
Most situations are considered dangerous. The SWAT team, which includes snipers who are extremely helpful when Condry gets himself in face-to-face conversations, is automatically called in.
"I want to make sure the SWAT team gets credit. They not only take the person into custody, but they are there to keep me safe," he said.
One negotiation took place on the roof of Onslow Memorial Hospital. A patient of Onslow County Behavioral Health who was upset because his care providers wouldn't send him to Cherry Hospital, a mental facility in Goldsboro, was threatening to jump.
"The guy was walking on the edge of the roof," Condry said. "I asked him what he was doing. He said he was looking for a clear spot without trees. I asked him why and he said he didn't want to break his fall. That's when I knew it was serious."
It took about an hour to talk him down. Condry, who was also up on the roof and not so fond of heights, was relieved to put that experience behind him.
"That was the tallest negotiation I have ever done," he said. "I hope to never do that again."
Slipping in and out of reality, the young Marine told Condry he killed his pets _ a dog and two cats.
"He wanted to die," Condry said. "He couldn't take the voices anymore."
Physically and emotionally drained, Condry kept the Marine focused. After six hours, he agreed to meet Condry in front of his apartment. The SWAT team was ready and took him into custody. But the Marine had a request: He wanted to meet the man who spent six hours trying to save his life.
"I hugged him and assured him that everything would be all right," Condry said. "He was crying and I was crying."
Condry later heard from the family that the Marine was getting the treatment he needed and would be all right.
"That case really got to me," Condry said..
"If I ever lose someone, I'm not sure I could continue with it," he said. "But there is very much a sense of satisfaction when you see a person going where they need to go and everyone walking away safely."
___
Information from: The Daily News, www.jdnews.com
Ellie
UPDATED: 5:12 pm EST December 2, 2006
JACKSONVILLE, N.C. -- A 21-year-old Marine was locked in his New River Drive apartment threatening to kill himself and his animals.
Jacksonville police received the information at about 3 a.m. on a hot summer morning last year. Detective and crisis negotiator Len Condry didn't know much more than that when he along with Steve Pierson, his backup negotiator at the time, and the department's SWAT team were activated.
"It was the hardest one I've ever done," said Condry, who has successfully negotiated his way through more than 50 crisis situations in the past 13 years. "It was probably one of the most serious ones, too."
The Marine's family, who live in Virginia, contacted police because he was threatening suicide. As they headed to Jacksonville, Condry started negotiating. He ran down the battery on one cell phone and was working on a second during more than six hours of conversations with the Marine, who was attached to 2nd Force Service and Support Group.
The Marine spent a long time just communicating through text messages. As information unfolded, Condry's concern grew. He learned the Marine was assigned to morgue detail during his deployment to Iraq from February 2004 to March 2005.
"He put the bodies in the bags to be shipped home," Condry said.
It was a job that typically lasted six months before Marines were rotated into another position. But the 21-year-old worked in the morgue his entire time in Iraq. Condry slowly learned just how much the experience had impacted the young Marine.
"He just wanted to die, and he didn't have the ability to do it himself," Condry said.
Condry, who has worked for the Jacksonville Police Department for seven years and worked for the Onslow County Sheriff's Department before that, is one of three trained hostage negotiators on the force along with officers Jamie Garcia and Daisy Haywood.
Although trained in basic, intermediate and advanced negotiating, Condry has never dealt with a hostage situation.
"In bigger cities, hostage-taking happens more than in smaller cities," Condry said. "Usually, I'm dealing with barricaded subjects who are suicidal or people who just don't want to surrender to police."
Regardless of whether the barricaded person is alone or with other people, the same principles apply.
"You want to get them to surrender without anyone getting hurt," Condry said. "Sometimes that happens fast. Sometimes it takes hours, and sometimes it doesn't happen at all."
Only one of Condry's negotiations was unsuccessful. The incident happened in October when 20-year-old Jonathan Skipper, who was accused of robbing a Dynamic Cab driver, hid inside a bathroom in a Liberty Crossing apartment.
Police were given information that Skipper was in one of the back rooms of the apartment. Condry spent about 30 minutes trying to lure Skipper out but received no response. The SWAT team went in and arrested him in connection to the robbery.
Situations requiring negotiation are intense. In some cases, Condry knows he's dealing with people who are seeking "suicide by cop" _ purposely putting themselves in standoff situations because they are unable to go through with a decision to kill themselves. Getting into their heads and finding the right words to get them out to safety is Condry's mission.
"You develop a weird relationship because you are working on an intense level," Condry said. "You have to be guarded and make sure you remain objective."
That works in theory, but when Condry's deep into a negotiation, it's challenging.
As Condry learned about the 21-year-old Marine's history and his job duties in Iraq, it was easy to feel his pain. Condry has twin sons who are almost the same age. One is a Navy corpsman serving in Iraq.
"I could see one of my kids going through that," Condry said.
It was emotionally difficult. It's also why there is a backup negotiator on hand. Last year, Pierson, who no longer works for the police department, was the negotiator Condry relied on.
"He did a phenomenal job keeping me balanced," Condry said. "You always have a backup. He's your scribe. He takes notes and offers suggestions. Steve Pierson was the best I ever worked with. I started getting frustrated. He would tell me to calm down."
When Condry walks into a situation, he never knows how long it will take to win someone's trust.
"It could take five minutes or five hours," Condry said.
Some negotiations are awkward.
He spent one lying on his stomach on a concrete driveway talking to a man wielding an ax in a garage. It was on Police Chief Mike Yaniero's first day on the job in October 2004. The garage door was open a little bit, and Condry was trying to keep the conversation going. At the time, the police department didn't own any plastic throw phones commonly used during negotiations. The phones are helpful because the negotiator keeps one and the other goes to the barricaded person.
Condry talked the man out of the garage. After that situation, Yaniero made sure the department purchased plastic throw phones.
Most situations are considered dangerous. The SWAT team, which includes snipers who are extremely helpful when Condry gets himself in face-to-face conversations, is automatically called in.
"I want to make sure the SWAT team gets credit. They not only take the person into custody, but they are there to keep me safe," he said.
One negotiation took place on the roof of Onslow Memorial Hospital. A patient of Onslow County Behavioral Health who was upset because his care providers wouldn't send him to Cherry Hospital, a mental facility in Goldsboro, was threatening to jump.
"The guy was walking on the edge of the roof," Condry said. "I asked him what he was doing. He said he was looking for a clear spot without trees. I asked him why and he said he didn't want to break his fall. That's when I knew it was serious."
It took about an hour to talk him down. Condry, who was also up on the roof and not so fond of heights, was relieved to put that experience behind him.
"That was the tallest negotiation I have ever done," he said. "I hope to never do that again."
Slipping in and out of reality, the young Marine told Condry he killed his pets _ a dog and two cats.
"He wanted to die," Condry said. "He couldn't take the voices anymore."
Physically and emotionally drained, Condry kept the Marine focused. After six hours, he agreed to meet Condry in front of his apartment. The SWAT team was ready and took him into custody. But the Marine had a request: He wanted to meet the man who spent six hours trying to save his life.
"I hugged him and assured him that everything would be all right," Condry said. "He was crying and I was crying."
Condry later heard from the family that the Marine was getting the treatment he needed and would be all right.
"That case really got to me," Condry said..
"If I ever lose someone, I'm not sure I could continue with it," he said. "But there is very much a sense of satisfaction when you see a person going where they need to go and everyone walking away safely."
___
Information from: The Daily News, www.jdnews.com
Ellie