Search Mediators Near You:

Harvey Hostage Negotiator’s Inside Look at Standoff

In an ABC7 exclusive, a key hostage negotiator gave Eyewitness News an inside look at how he and others helped bring that suburban standoff in Harvey to a peaceful end.

It was a worse-case scenario: six kids and two adults held at gunpoint by two men who had already shot two police officers. State police, the South Suburban Emergency Response Team and the Cook County Sheriff’s Police all came together with one goal: get everyone out alive. It ended almost a day after it began.

Around 9 a.m. Wednesday, SWAT team members removed windows and doors from the building after
a 20-hour standoff in Harvey, Illinois.

…”They wanted cigarettes. Not a problem. We went down to the store, purchased some
cigarettes and we were able to trade two packs of cigarettes in exchange for one of
the children. (Good trade.) Obviously a fantastic trade,” said Rule.

See the full video clip here.

                        author

Jeff Thompson

Jeff Thompson, Ph.D., is a professor at Lipscomb University, researcher, mediator, and trainer. He is also involved in crisis and hostage negotiation as well as a law enforcement detective. His research includes law enforcement crisis and hostage negotiation in terrorist incidents. He received his doctorate from Griffith University Law School… MORE >

Featured Mediators

ad
View all

Read these next

Category

New Normative on Mediation in Spain (Part One)

I. Introduction: General Issues. Mediation is an effective tool for the resolution of conflicts involving subjective, unrestricted rights. Many advantages have been attributed to the process of mediation, including the...

By Aura Esther Vilalta, Rosa Perez Martell
Category

Lessons Learned from the Implementation of a Video Eviction Mediation Program in Uncertain Times

This article is part of a series of perspectives on eviction mediation program development that is being supported by the American Arbitration Association-International Centre for Dispute Resolution Foundation. The AAA-ICDR’s grant is...

By Jennifer Shack
Category

Mediators Have No Interest in Justice and Fairness; Charlie Irvine Bites Back!

Well, I'm not sure of the politics behind this exchange. But read Charlie Irvine's response to senior academic and Honorary Queen’s Counsel Dame Hazel Genn's lecture in December 2008 ADR...

By Geoff Sharp

Find a Mediator