Main Street Standoff in Fairhaven

The following details were provided by the Fairhaven Police Department:

Fairhaven Police responded to a disturbance call to an apartment located at 55 Main Street just after 8:30 Sunday night. When officers arrived they encountered a 40 year old male, identified as Richard Ribeiro who appeared to be in an agitated state.

When Ribeiro saw the officers, he began yelling at them that they would “have to kill” him and he “would not be taken alive”. Ribeiro then began punching his windows with his fists, breaking the glass in the panes. He also began throwing things around his apartment. Ribeiro also began throwing items through the windows of the apartment, sending shattered glass scattering to the ground.

Officers Philip Lacerda, David Correia, Andrew Quintin, along with Sergeant Daniel Dorgan, set up a perimeter around the apartment and requested mutual aid from the Acushnet and Mattapoisett Police Departments. Massachusetts State Police and SWAT Teams and negotiators from the Southeastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council and New Bedford Police Department were also called in to assist.

Ribeiro continued to destroy his apartment and throw items out of the windows. At one point Ribeiro threw a hammer at the SWAT Team armored personnel carrier and knocked an external intercom speaker off the vehicle. Law enforcement personnel remained in place and maintained a perimeter around the scene.

At approximately 11:30 pm Ribeiro was observed by officers climbing out a south window of his first floor apartment. A member of the SEMLEC SWAT Team immobilized Ribeiro with a TASER and he was taken into custody uninjured. Upon being taken into custody, Ribeiro was transported to St. Luke’s Hospital for evaluation.

When officers entered Ribeiro’s apartment, they found it completely destroyed. There was shattered glass and destroyed property strewn about. They also discovered that Ribeiro tampered with a natural gas line leading to a gas stove in the apartment. A plastic wall poster was found nearby that was partially burned and melted.

Ribeiro, who was the sole occupant of the apartment during this incident, was charged with two counts of vandalism. One count was for destroying the apartment he was renting. The second count stems from the damage Ribeiro caused to the SWAT vehicle. He is also being charged with disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace and attempted arson of a dwelling. He will be arraigned Monday.