COLUMBUS, Ind. — A local man was arrested early Thursday morning after a stand-off with officers from the Columbus Police Department SWAT Team. At approximately 2:30 a.m., CPD officers observed a vehicle driven by Justin M. Morgan, 42, of Columbus, said Lt. Matt Harris, Columbus Police Department spokesman.
Morgan was a suspect in a recent theft of a firearm from a Columbus home, Harris said. Morgan parked his vehicle in the 2700 block of California Court and refused to follow the commands of the officers on scene who attempted to make contact with him. During the standoff with patrol officers, Morgan refused to exit his vehicle and advised officers that he was armed with a handgun.
Columbus Police Department crisis negotiators as well as the CPD SWAT Team, which is comprised of CPD officers and Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department deputies, were requested to assist at the scene. Upon their arrival, the CPD Bomb Squad was also requested. The crisis negotiators communicated with Morgan for an extended period of time in an effort to get him to surrender to the officers on scene. When he refused to so, the bomb squad officers utilized a robot to break a window on Morgan’s vehicle and administered tear gas into the car, Harris said.
A short time later, Morgan exited the vehicle where he was arrested by SWAT officers. Morgan was transported to the Columbus Regional Hospital for a medical checkout and a short time later remanded to the Bartholomew County Jail on the following preliminary charges:
–Possession of a Firearm by a Serious Violent Felon
–Unlawful Possession of a Handgun
–Possession of a Legend Drug
–Resisting Law Enforcement
The Indiana State Police, Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office, and CRH Paramedics assisted with this call.
The investigation is ongoing and additional charges are possible, Harris said.
