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Members of the Carmel Police Department responded to Putnam Drive at approximately 2:20 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 23, where there was a report of a previous domestic incident involving 28-year-old Carmel resident Alexander Booth.
The officer heard what he thought was a gunshot coming from the home, and requested backup, Carmel Police Chief Michael Cazzari said. Booth could be seen acting agitated as backup arrived before hunkering down inside his garage apartment and barricading himself inside.
The incident led to a flurry of information and misinformation on social media after neighbors evacuated neighbors' homes and the Putnam County Emergency Response Team and Negotiation Team.
Police eventually entered into negotiations with Booth, who finally relented six hours later without further incident.
Langley praised responding law enforcement agencies, noting that all parties were unharmed.
“Our departments worked together seamlessly to negotiate with a person who was in crisis and ensured that both the individual, the public, and all law enforcement officers came out of the situation unharmed,” he said.
The Sheriff was also critical of the role social media played in further escalating the situation and “creating additional stress on the individual and on our law enforcement officers.
“People with no connection to the individual engaged with him via social media outlets, countering the work of our negotiations to calm him, bring him out safely,” he said. “Social media participants created a secondary crisis situation in the midst of our response. Calls of protest based on misinformation generated via social media and secondary agendas were received non-stop on the non-emergency lines.”
With the phone lines tied up for potential local situation, some emergencies were overlooked, Langley said, making it more difficult for the public to contact law enforcement. He said that some of those calls were, in fact, emergencies and needed to be forwarded from our 911 dispatch.
“Public safety was compromised that night," Langley said. "Precious moments were lost for response by individuals seeking to grandstand and interfere in a crisis and law enforcement’s response to it.
"I condemn the actions taken on social media since this incident and ask the public to consider the dangerous potential impacts of such interference.
“Everyone has a right to an opinion and free speech. No one has the right to hamper a police response and public safety.
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