A Wildwood police officer has received a commendation from Police Chief Randy Parmer for her negotiation skills that led to the surrender of a 65-year-old man who barricaded himself earlier this month at The Lofts at Brownwood in The Villages.
Parmer presented the commendation Monday to Officer Angela Velez at a city commission meeting.
The Sumter County Sheriff’s Office’s SWAT team was deployed the afternoon of Oct. 5 to the apartments, which were evacuated during the standoff.
Parmer said Velez contacted the man, established a rapport and spent about three hours negotiating his surrender.
“That’s an extremely mentally and physically demanding exercise,” the chief said.
The man threatened suicide and claimed to be armed, although he had no firearms when he surrendered.
Parmer said Velez, who also was honored as Wildwood’s officer of the year, recently received hostage negotiation training and had a chance to practice her new skills.
She received a standing ovation from those at the meeting.
