Suspect In Custody After 4-hour Police Chase; Sparks 2-College Lockdown
By: Rachel Polansky
Updated: August 31, 2012
Reports of an armed man sparked 2 college lockdowns last night.
26-year-old Derik Churchill of Oneida is in custody after police say he
led them on a nearly 4-hour chase through Madison and Onondaga counties.
Police say Churchill was in immediate violation of a court order
against a Munsville woman. And even after the chase and all the
commotion, Churchill is out after posting a $1,000 dollar bond.
Eyewitness News reporter Rachel Polansky was there and joins us live in
the newsroom. Rachel, I can imagine people are still a bit frazzled -
What can you tell us?
Joe and Elsa, there are serious questions of how a man who reportedly violated a protective order against him is free tonight. Both Cazenovia College and SUNY Morrisville were put on lockdown late last night and into early this morning. But they've resumed normal operations since Churchill was taken into custody outside of the Cazenovia College campus, near the freshmen dorm rooms. The chase ended at about 1:30 this morning but students I spoke with today are still shaken up
"I just saw these policeman with like large guns, like assault rifles I've never seen before," says Kelly Breitung, Cazenovia student.
"And then you see the flashing lights and the cops outside, you don't really know what's going on," says Joe Peri, Cazenovia student.
"I had 5 panic attacks. Active shooter is kind of my biggest fear ever in the whole world," says Charlie Searle, Cazenovia student.
They've been at school just one week - but freshmen at Cazenovia College are already seeing a lot of action.
"The policemen and guns and you hear the guy screaming, it was terrifying, ya know, especially our first week here," says Hope Brennan, Cazenovia student.
The police apprehended the man right here outside of the freshmen dorm rooms. The Communications Director says they sent out a CAZ Alert at 12:30am warning students of an allegedly armed man in Cazenovia.
"We wanted to ensure the safety of our students, issued a lockdown immediately," says Wayne Westervelt, Cazenovia Director of Communications.
"It just told us that he was on campus and we were supposed to stay in our rooms and not go anywhere," says Peri.
"It's brief but it leaves us out of the dark," says Brennan.
"And our goal there was for students who were out and about, or thinking of going from 1 res hall to another, were not," says Westervelt.
Despite threats that he had a gun, the Madison County Undersheriff says Churchill was not armed with a firearm but -
"There was a very large knife, a Japanese type, I don't want to call it a samurai but along those lines and another knife," says John Ball, Madison County Undersheriff.
And Undersheriff Ball says police deployed stop sticks in multiple locations throughout the pursuit.
"Avoiding many attempts with the stop sticks, he finally hit a set, continued on for 2 more miles on 2 wheels when his vehicle stopped on Cazenovia College where he was taken into custody," says Undersheriff Ball.
Now the Madison County Sheriff Department says Churchill was arraigned on 2 charges today, criminal contempt in the first degree and aggravated harassment in the second degree. And, it's safe to assume the woman who has the protection order against Churchill is on alert tonight. The Sheriffs Department says it's doing what it can to ensure her safety.
Joe and Elsa, there are serious questions of how a man who reportedly violated a protective order against him is free tonight. Both Cazenovia College and SUNY Morrisville were put on lockdown late last night and into early this morning. But they've resumed normal operations since Churchill was taken into custody outside of the Cazenovia College campus, near the freshmen dorm rooms. The chase ended at about 1:30 this morning but students I spoke with today are still shaken up
"I just saw these policeman with like large guns, like assault rifles I've never seen before," says Kelly Breitung, Cazenovia student.
"And then you see the flashing lights and the cops outside, you don't really know what's going on," says Joe Peri, Cazenovia student.
"I had 5 panic attacks. Active shooter is kind of my biggest fear ever in the whole world," says Charlie Searle, Cazenovia student.
They've been at school just one week - but freshmen at Cazenovia College are already seeing a lot of action.
"The policemen and guns and you hear the guy screaming, it was terrifying, ya know, especially our first week here," says Hope Brennan, Cazenovia student.
The police apprehended the man right here outside of the freshmen dorm rooms. The Communications Director says they sent out a CAZ Alert at 12:30am warning students of an allegedly armed man in Cazenovia.
"We wanted to ensure the safety of our students, issued a lockdown immediately," says Wayne Westervelt, Cazenovia Director of Communications.
"It just told us that he was on campus and we were supposed to stay in our rooms and not go anywhere," says Peri.
"It's brief but it leaves us out of the dark," says Brennan.
"And our goal there was for students who were out and about, or thinking of going from 1 res hall to another, were not," says Westervelt.
Despite threats that he had a gun, the Madison County Undersheriff says Churchill was not armed with a firearm but -
"There was a very large knife, a Japanese type, I don't want to call it a samurai but along those lines and another knife," says John Ball, Madison County Undersheriff.
And Undersheriff Ball says police deployed stop sticks in multiple locations throughout the pursuit.
"Avoiding many attempts with the stop sticks, he finally hit a set, continued on for 2 more miles on 2 wheels when his vehicle stopped on Cazenovia College where he was taken into custody," says Undersheriff Ball.
Now the Madison County Sheriff Department says Churchill was arraigned on 2 charges today, criminal contempt in the first degree and aggravated harassment in the second degree. And, it's safe to assume the woman who has the protection order against Churchill is on alert tonight. The Sheriffs Department says it's doing what it can to ensure her safety.
