SHELBYVILLE, Mich.-- Allegan county authorities said that they chased an assault suspect driving a stolen vehicle along 122nd Ave. and 9th Street in Shelbyville until he drove into a field where they surrounded the vehicle.
Video shot by a FOX 17 viewer shows law enforcement surrounding a stolen black pickup truck. In the video the suspect exits the pickup from the passenger side with his hands in the air, after an almost four hour standoff with police.
"We are relying on our negotiators. We are relying on our SWAT team. We are relying on our law enforcement partners to make something like this come together where you have a large area with a large perimeter," said Capt. Frank Baker.
Captain Frank Baker with the Allegan County Sheriff's Office said that the male suspect in his 20's stole the pickup truck, before leading police on a short chase.
Neighbors tell FOX 17 that the suspect knew the owner of the pickup.
Law enforcement said that before stealing the vehicle, the suspect committed a felony assault, but wouldn't release any further details on that incident.
Investigators said that the man had a long gun in the vehicle, and refused to come out.
During Monday's standoff, Allegan county's new military grade SWAT vehicle, also known as Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles were used. Several counties in west Michigan are now using the SWAT vehicles including Calhoun, Muskegon, and Barry.
"It was very beneficial in a situation like this. We were able to deploy those vehicles basically within feet of the suspect's vehicle and because they are armored, our negotiator was able to be close, talk to the person. We were able to utilize other types of equipment to bring this to a resolution safely for all parties involved," said Capt. Baker.
Michigan State Police, Allegan City Police and Allegan County Sheriff's were able to resolve the tense situation without anyone being injured.
"It's something where obviously a lot of training, a lot of pre-planning for incidents like this really came together and also the work of our law enforcement partners that helped today."
People who live nearby were told to stay inside their homes during the standoff.
