Sheriff Tim Luce says a standoff ended safely on Friday around 9 a.m. after the suspect involved surrendered without injury to anyone involved.
It began on Thursday around 4:30 p.m. at a residence on County Rd. 139 in Ovid. Deputies responded to 2463 County Rd. 139 for the report of a male threatening self-harm and believed to be armed.
A perimeter was immediately established and Sheriff’s Office crisis negotiators were requested to the scene. Crisis negotiators who were also CIT–(Crisis Intervention Team), trained immediately began communicating with the male by phone to obtain his safe surrender, according to Luce.
The male did not comply and would not exit the residence. The negotiations continued through the night.
A drone unit was deployed to survey the scene and ensure safety of the perimeter, according to Luce.
Around 9 a.m. on March 12 the male surrendered, unharmed. He was taken into custody and a search warrant was executed after- resulting in the arrest of Mark Taggerty, 62, of Ovid.
He was charged with one count of felony criminal possession of a weapon after investigators seized a sawed-off shotgun.
Taggerty was arraigned and will answer the charges at a later date. He was also taken to a psychiatric facility, according to Luce, for an evaluation.
The Seneca County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by New York State Police, Ovid Fire Department, South Seneca Ambulance, Seneca County Highway Department, and the Seneca County E-911 Center.
“A special thanks goes out to the Fire Police who blockaded the roadway so that more Officers could be devoted to the incident,” Luce said. “The Sheriff’s Office would also like to thank the community for their continued patience during the incident. A power outage in the area during this incident was coincidental and not related.”
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