Kalispell police standoff ends peacefully

Laser School evacuated, streets and alleys cordoned off for two blocks

A standoff with a reportedly suicidal man Friday morning ended without incident when he surrendered peacefully to Kalispell police.

Edward Webber, 29, was taken into custody about 11:45 a.m., to undergo a mental health evaluation.

A call to police sent a couple officers to the home on East Washington about 5:20 a.m., shortly after Webber's estranged wife had taken his rifle as he searched for bullets.

She told police there were more hunting rifles and hand guns in the house.

By the time Webber surrendered more than six hours later, the nearby Laser School had been evacuated, streets and alleys were cordoned off for two blocks, and 14 officers were involved in negotiations, tactical work and perimeter security.

There were no injuries and no shots were fired.

The police log entry indicated Webber had phoned his wife, from whom he is separated, and asked her to come to his home.

He also threatened to hurt himself, Kalispell Police Chief Frank Garner said.

Officers went to the home and started a dialog with the man, Garner said. When he did not cooperate with them, staying behind closed doors in his main-floor duplex apartment, the officers called for additional support.

By 6 a.m., a four-member special response team had set up security immediately around the home while Det. Jim Wardensky and Sgt. John Ortiz began talking with Webber.

Throughout the morning, they continued talking with Webber through the door and on the phone.

"He would come to the door, but he wouldn't talk much and he told them to go away. He was despondent," Garner said. "Then the rapport improved; they got him to talk through the help of other family members and friends."

Finally, he agreed to go into police custody.

Residents of adjoining properties in the immediate area of danger were evacuated.

No children or other adults were in Webber's apartment, Garner said.

Students and staff at Laser School, the District 5 alternative high school across the street to the west of the duplex, were sent home just a half-hour before Webber surrendered.

"They were advised, and they kept students at one end of the building," Garner said of Laser School officials, "but we never felt they were in a particularly bad situation."

Laser principal Kevin Calnan said police explained the situation as soon as he got to school Friday morning.

Students and staff were directed through the rear door as they arrived.

Classes continued as normal throughout the morning, with everyone in the west end of the school away from the duplex.

Calnan said the gym and large yard on the east end of the school served as a natural buffer for any potential action.

But as the first lunch shift approached, they made the call to cancel classes the rest of the day. Calnan said the vehicle bringing meals from the central kitchen at Flathead High would have had to be redirected, and students who normally eat lunch in the gym would have needed to be relocated.

Besides the 70 Laser students, there was concern for the handful of elementary students who catch a school bus at Laser. Calnan said special transportation arrangements were made for them through the central district office.