Chief Commends Officer's "Extraordinary Restraint"

Village police arrested a Northport man who confronted two officers holding a shotgun and a knife. Northport Ville PD photos

By Connor Beach
cbeach@longislandergroup.com

A Northport man was arrested last week after he pointed a loaded gun at officers during a tense standoff, according to Northport police.

Police said officers were called to a tenant dispute at around 11:45 p.m., April 18 in a building with multiple apartments at 149 Fort Salonga Road in the Village of Northport.

The first officer to arrive spoke with the complainant, who police say was bleeding from the mouth. The victim told officers Logan Arens, who lives in the basement apartment, had punched him in the face, according to police.
Two Northport officers headed for the basement stairs to find Arens, and as they opened the basement door the officers encountered Arens coming up the stairs with a rifle in his left hand and a butcher knife in his right, according to police.

Police said Arens, 22, pointed the rifle up the stairs at the lead officer who drew his service weapon and ordered the suspect to drop the gun, which authorities later identified as a .22-caliber rifle that was loaded with one round in the chamber and eight in the magazine. Arens hesitated momentarily, but did drop the gun, according to police.

The officer then ordered Arens to drop the knife, and after four commands he finally put the knife down, police said. He was taken into custody without further incident.

“This is a situation that very well may have ended much differently,” Northport Police Chief Bill Ricca said. “The officer used an extraordinary amount of restraint and brought it to a conclusion without a tragic outcome.”

Police charged Arens with menacing a police officer, second-degree harassment and two counts of fourth-degree criminal procession of a weapon. He was arraigned in Northport Village Court and released on $5,000 bail. He is due back in court this week.