ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A 3-year-old boy is safe and his father is in custody after he barricaded himself and the child inside a pickup truck for hours early Tuesday on Gandy Boulevard, the St. Petersburg Police Department said.
It all started around 11:30 p.m. Monday as a "domestic incident" at a home on Norfolk Street N near 18th Avenue in St. Petersburg. Police spokesperson Yolanda Fernandez said officers were called around 12:30 a.m. Tuesday and were told the man, 32-year-old Matthew Perkins had been "acting erratically" throughout the night and took the child.
Perkins then drove around the area for some time before ending up crashing on Gandy Boulevard under the Interstate 275 overpass, Fernandez said. And that's where police responded, assisted by both the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office and Pinellas Park Police Department.
As the standoff got underway, police closed all lanes of Gandy Boulevard in both directions. That closure lasted for several hours.
From there, S.W.A.T. and negotiators arrived and began working to get Perkins to surrender peacefully. Throughout the standoff, the department's new robotic dog SPOT approached the truck as part of the de-escalation efforts, police said. SPOT was able to safely provide live video of Perkins and child inside the truck, the department explained.
However, despite numerous attempts to communicate with Perkins, police said he refused to negotiate with the agency.
At some point during the standoff, Perkins broke the glass on the truck. And, police said it appears at some point he used his son as a human shield. Fernandez said earlier Perkins was potentially armed. Later, police clarified it doesn't appear he had a firearm but did have a pair of scissors and police wanted to take every precaution to ensure the child remained safe.
The assistant police chief said Perkins used the scissors to keep the child close to him, placing them against the child's neck and head throughout the standoff.
Officers said there was "heightened concern" for the 3-year-old's welfare, prompting SWAT to act and rescue the child and arrest Perkins.
Police said Perkins now faces numerous charges including false imprisonment, aggravated child abuse and aggravated assault.