PORT ANGELES — Clallam County sheriff’s deputies responded to two incidents over the weekend that involved armed individuals who posed a threat to public safety.
One involved a man who threatened to kill his neighbor and the other was a man who allegedly damaged property with a sword at an RV park.
“These incidents highlight the importance of de-escalation, defensive tactics and less-lethal options when deputies are faced with armed and volatile individuals,” the Sheriff’s Office stated in a news release. “Clallam County Sheriff’s Office deputies receive ongoing training in crisis intervention, defensive tactics and the use of less-lethal tools designed to reduce the risk of serious injury of loss of life to deputies, suspects and the public.”
Deputies responded about 2:09 p.m. Sunday to the Freshwater Bay area, where John Hanrahan, 59, allegedly threatened to kill his neighbor.
Law enforcement officers contacted neighbors, who reported hearing gunshots and a man screaming from Hanrahan’s residence the previous night, the Sheriff’s Office said. Neighbors also said they had seen Hanrahan in possession of firearms.
Deputies applied for and were granted a search warrant to arrest Hanrahan and seize all firearms, the Sheriff’s Office said.
The Peninsula Crisis Response Team was activated to assist with the high-risk warrant with the use of armored vehicles, the Sheriff’s Office added.
Shortly after law enforcement arrived, Hanrahan surrendered and was taken into custody without incident. Deputies located a 9mm handgun concealed on his person during a search, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Hanrahan later admitted he planned to kill his neighbor and also admitted to firing multiple rounds from two rifles the previous night, the Sheriff’s Office said. Deputies located spent shell casings and bullets in Hanrahan’s yard along with several firearms and ammunition inside his residence, the agency added.
Hanrahan was booked into the Clallam County Jail on investigation of felony harassment and was denied bail. He remained in custody on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, deputies were dispatched about 2:53 p.m. Monday to a disturbance at an RV park in the 100 block of Old Deer Park Road east of Port Angeles. The reporting party said Matthew Toney, 32, was behaving erratically and destroying outdoor furniture with a sword.
Deputies arrived and learned Toney had gone inside an RV, where it sounded as though he continued to destroy property, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Deputies contacted Toney outside the RV where he sat in a chair that belonged to the RV park. Law enforcement officers were attempting to de-escalate the situation with verbal communication when Toney ripped the arm off the chair in which he was sitting, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Deputies attempted to arrest Toney for malicious mischief, but Toney resisted, resulting in a 17-minute physical struggle that involved four deputies and a State Patrol trooper, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Three deputies sustained minor injuries during the altercation, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Once Toney was secured in handcuffs, medics were dispatched to evaluate him, the agency added.
Deputies later applied for and were granted a search warrant to retrieve the sword from the RV. The trailer had significant interior and exterior damage, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Toney was booked into the Clallam County Jail on investigation of second-degree malicious mischief, second-degree malicious mischief-domestic violence, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and three counts of third-degree assault on a police officer, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Toney remained in jail on Wednesday on $50,000 bail.
