Cambridge Springs police stand-off ends peacefully

By Jane Smith

04/02/07 April 01, 2007 11:08 pm

— CAMBRIDGE SPRINGS — A four-hour police standoff at a home on South Main Street ended peacefully Sunday night with no casualties.
It was because of the skills of Probation officer Bob Stein of the Crawford County Adult Probation and Parole Department that it ended with no injuries, according to Cambridge Springs Police Chief Erie Johnson.
The incident started when a 34-year-old woman from Corry was visiting the home of an acquaintance who was in a predicament and became suicidal. She tied a rope around the roof of a shed and her neck and was standing on a landing, threatening suicide.
“We could not subdue her,” said Johnson.
They called for assistance from Pennsylvania State Police and then called for Stein, who is a trained negotiator. “He was able to safely talk her down,” said Johnson.
He said reports of hostages being held were not true. Ordinarily, suicidal attempts are not reported but because it involved a four-hour standoff and police presence, he wanted to be certain the many rumors were put to rest, so issued the report.
However, no information about the woman or the acquaintance was made public.
Johnson did say that it had nothing to do with anybody at the state correctional institution at Cambridge Springs.
“I want to commend Bob Stein for his assistance, as well as the PSP and Cambridge Area Volunteer Ambulance Service,” Johnson said.
Once Stein successful talked the woman into coming down, she was taken via ambulance to a hospital “to get the needed treatment,” said Johnson.