Standoff with armed gunman ends peacefully

SWAT team called in to negotiate with Estacada man

By Evan Jensen

The Estacada News, Nov 20, 2009

Bret Hatcher.

Submitted photo / Estacada News

Twenty-five miles east of downtown Estacada, near the Ripple Brook Ranger Station on Highway 224, a mentally disturbed Estacada man went on a rampage Nov. 18, breaking windows, chasing family members from the home and firing shots from a .22-caliber rifle.

But after a two-hour standoff with Clackamas County Sheriff’s deputies and SWAT negotiators, Brent A. Hatcher, 28, was taken into custody and booked in the Clackamas County Jail for unlawful use of a weapon and reckless endangerment, with bail set at $200,000. Charges of attempted murder were dropped, but Hatcher remains in jail under close supervision.

According to a Clackamas County Sheriff’s report, Hatcher took a large amount of antidepressant medication coupled with alcohol just before 9 p.m. on Nov. 18 and turned violent. Family members fled the home, called the police and said Hatcher wanted responding officers to shoot him. Emergency responders began arriving shortly after the call and attempted to initiate communication with Hatcher.

“At 10:14 p.m., Bret Hatcher answered the telephone at the resident and declared repeatedly that he had a rifle and would shoot to kill,” CCSO Public Information Officer Jim Strovink said.

1 | 2 Next Page >>

Facebook	Digg	Del.icio.us
Newsvine	Stumbleupon	Reddit