Report: Five-hour long armed standoff ends at Dayton motel

DAYTON — A nearly five-hour armed standoff with a Hamilton County, Tenn., man in north Dayton ended with no serious injuries and the suspect safely being taken into custody, according to arrest reports and investigators with the Dayton Police Department (DPD).

The incident began on Thursday, Feb. 1, at around 5:15 p.m. when officers with the Dayton Police Department were dispatched to America’s Best Value Inn near the intersection of Rhea County Highway and Walnut Grove Road on reports of a domestic disturbance.

“(DPD Officer Christopher) Weyler arrived on scene and spoke with a female who was later identified as Jessie Forester and a male party who was later identified as Adam Sanders,” the report states. “As officer Weyler attempted to investigate the disorder, Adam became irate. It was at this time Adam put his hand on a handgun that was in a holster on his side. Officer Weyler than gave Adam a verbal command to not touch his firearm. Adam then stated that he was going to kill himself and began to walk away from officer Weyler. It was at this time Adam walked into the threshold, pulled the handgun from the holster, stuck it to his head and closed the door.”

According to an arrest report, once the situation was relayed to central dispatch, DPD Officer Eric Swafford, DPD Sgt. Josh Jordan and other officers and investigators with the police department arrived on scene.

DPD Investigator Michael Green said in his report that when he and DPD Investigator Eric Ewton arrived on scene, they found that Jordan was on the phone negotiating with Sanders, who at the time, was till holed up in the motel room.

At that time, Ewton said that Dayton police evacuated other residents of the motel while still attempting to negotiate with Sanders.

“During the negotiations, (Sanders) made claims of being tortured, that he was working for Homeland Security, made claims of being a Marine that was on a special mission from the Pentagon and that he was investigating terrorists,” the incident report states.

Investigators said that they made repeated requests for Sanders to surrender, and while doing so, they contacted Sanders’ girlfriend in an attempt to enlist help in deescalating the situation.

However, when investigators called the number listed to Sanders’ girlfriend, the report states that Sanders answered the call.

“[Sanders) answered the number that was listed for (his girlfriend]. It was at this time that (Sanders) started talking to me also,” Green said, adding that at that time investigators realized that Sanders was talking to them through two phones.

Communication with Sanders continued for the next two hours, according to the report, and after that time, law enforcement made the decision cut power to Sanders’ room while negotiations were still taking place via cellphone.

Green said in his report that once officers were able to locate and transport Sanders’ girlfriend to the scene, she began speaking to him nearly three hours into the standoff. While speaking to his girlfriend, the report states that Sanders did open the door to the motel room, and officers did give him commands to drop the handgun and exit the room; however, those commands were not complied with.

The report states that Sanders continued to be in contact with both investigators and his girlfriend but that he continued to exemplify “erratic and paranoid behavior,” including him making claims “about an earthquake weapon and continuing to claim that he had been kidnapped and tortured. (Sanders) also claimed that his body was being controlled by a device and claimed to have called the Secretary of Defense for help.”

After nearly five hours of negotiations, the report states that investigators lost contact with Sanders and that attempts to re-establish cellphone contact with him were unsuccessful. According to Green’s report, the police department, with assistance from the Rhea County Sheriff’s Department, deployed five rounds of tear gas and a similar substance into the room, causing Sanders to evacuate the room and surrender to officers without serious incident.

Investigators with the Dayton Police Department said that recent training in deescalation contributed to the successful resolution on Thursday. Ewton said that officers were recently trained in deescalation and that even more training in deescalation techniques is scheduled for April 2024.

Ewton said that in addition to city police officers that Rhea County Sheriff’s Department officials were instrumental in securing the outcome of the standoff.

“The sheriff’s department came out and helped us a bit,” Ewtwon said. “In the grand scheme of things, it was a good outcome. He didn’t hurt himself, and no officers or deputies were hurt.”