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The incident took place in Fairfield on Wednesday, Oct. 26.
According to Fairfield Police Lt. Michael Paris, officers went to the home of Neil Bhatia, age 46, after learning he failed to show up in court for his arrest on Tuesday, Oct. 25, and for several other domestic violence-related warrants.
Bhatia had been arrested by Fairfield Police on Tuesday and charged with risk of injury to a minor and disorderly conduct. He was released on a $20,000 bond, Paris said.
Police learned he also had new warrants for his arrest issued in Stamford and Weston.
Paris said officers attempted to serve the warrants at Bhatia’s home on Mona Terrace and he was extremely uncooperative and refused to exit his home or speak with police.
Due to the seriousness of the crimes and his failure to appear in court, officers attempted to negotiate with Bhatia with no success, Paris said.
Additionally, out of an abundance of caution, the Fairfield Fire Department was called to the scene after officers smelled the odor of natural gas.
The department's Emergency Services Unit along with police negotiators were called to the scene to assist.
Following several attempts to negotiate with Bhatia and his refusal to cooperate, "police introduced chemical munitions (pepper spray) into the home to induce a non-toxic reaction, hoping that Bhatia will exit the home," Paris said.
Moments later, Bhatia came out of the home and was taken into custody without incident, he added.
Bhatia was transported to the hospital for evaluation and will be charged with several counts of failure to appear, disorderly conduct, and multiple counts of violation of a protective order.
He is due to appear in court on Thursday, Oct. 27.
There were no injuries sustained to Bhatia or any emergency personnel.
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