POLICE – Armed standoff in Juniper ends peacefully after de-escalation

An armed standoff ended peacefully today (Sept. 4, 2020) with a man being apprehended under the Mental Health Act and taken to hospital.

At 7:41 a.m. Kamloops RCMP responded to a call about a distraught man in the vicinity of Qu’Appelle Boulevard and Cheakamus Drive in Juniper. The situation evolved into an armed and barricaded standoff that required police to contain the scene by restricting traffic and evacuating some nearby homes.

RCMP Kamloops worked with the South East District Emergency Response Team to deploy a de-escalation process that successfully resolved the situation.  At about 9:37 a.m. the man was taken into custody and taken directly to hospital.

There were no injuries.

“Seeing highly visible police incidents unfold in residential areas is always unsettling,” said Staff Sgt. Simon Pillay.

“We would like to thank the people disturbed by this event for their cooperation and understanding. When RCMP members respond to calls like this, public safety is our first priority.

“As such, we make an area safe so we can de-escalate and hopefully resolve the matter peacefully. In this case, the de-escalation process was successful and the male was eventually apprehended in a cooperative fashion.”