Locals in lockdown over roof standoff

Residents were forced to stay inside their home for seven hours yesterday while police dealt with a man who refused to come down from the roof of their house in Auckland.

The ordeal began at 10am when the 39-year-old man allegedly refused to stop his car for police and fled.

He abandoned his vehicle and ran through several properties in the Auckland suburb of Weymouth.

Resident Greg Jones said the man had darted through the back of his property and tried to hide in his garden shed, before leaping over his fence and climbing on to the roof of his neighbour’s house.

“He’s been up there ever since,” he said.

Senior Sergeant Matthew Child said police tried to convince the man to come down off the roof but when this failed they employed their negotiation team.

“They spoke with the man for almost two hours, however the man still refused to come down,” Child said.

“While the man was on the roof the homeowners remained inside the

They spoke with the man for almost two hours, however the man still refused to come down. Senior Sergeant Matthew Child

property as it was unsafe to move them out of the house.”

After seven hours, the man began to damage parts of the roof and became aggressive towards police.

He was finally removed by police at around 5pm, apparently with the help of the fire service and a cherry picker.

Police said they had to use “tactical options” to take the man into custody, but did not provide any further details.

Jones said the police were armed with Tasers, but it was not known if they were used.

A man will appear in the Manukau District Court tomorrow after being charged with driving offences, assault, wilful damage and threatening behaviour.