Jackson police officers assist in South Toms River incident

Officers from the Jackson Police Department who are assigned to the Ocean County Regional SWAT team responded to a call for assistance from the South Toms River Police Department on the afternoon of May 31.

The call for assistance involved a 37-year-old man who had barricaded himself inside his residence. Police said there was an arrest warrant for the man.

Just after 4 p.m., officers with the South Toms River Police Department responded to a residence on Hummel Drive in South Toms River in an attempt to serve the man with the arrest warrant. Police said the man was wanted on warrants out of three jurisdictions for criminal charges and traffic charges.

As the South Toms River police officers arrived at the residence, they saw the man outside and began to approach him. Police said the man saw the officers and fled into the home. Police said the officers followed the man into the home, but lost sight of him and subsequently heard sounds coming from an adjacent room that raised concerns he might be trying to secure a weapon.

The officers left the home and set up a perimeter covering all exits to prevent the man from fleeing the residence.

Police said the Ocean County Regional SWAT team was called to provide assistance at the scene. Upon the arrival of the SWAT team, the officers from the partnering agencies secured the area surrounding the home to ensure the safety of neighboring residents before attempting contact with the man who had fled from police.

Members of the SWAT team and negotiators outside the residence began communicating with the man. After more than three hours of negotiations, the man surrendered and was taken into custody without incident at 7:50 p.m., according to police.

The resident was preliminarily charged with obstructing the administration of the law, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and on the charges contained in the outstanding warrants. Police said a search warrant would be secured to determine if there were any weapons in the residence.

The man was transported to a hospital for a psychiatric evaluation before being placed in the Ocean County Jail, Toms River.