Greenport Man Killed In Standoff

A Suffolk County Police officer shot and killed a Greenport man after a prolonged standoff in that village on Thursday, January 3.

         Southold Town Police initially responded to an apartment on Route 48 around noon after a 911 caller suggested his friend was unstable, armed, and dangerous.

         After securing the neighborhood on Route 48 in Greenport between Chapel Lane and Moores Lane, Southold Town Police cautiously approached the apartment.

         The occupant and owner of the apartment, said to be Robert Myers, 63, may have already discharged a firearm, the caller said. Police ascertained a “medical call” had been from the dwelling a few years back, and perhaps several over the years, though no arrests were made.

         Myers was armed, agitated, and suicidal, the man told police, according to accounts furnished by responding officers, who, following procedure, called in the Suffolk County Police while securing the perimeter of the area.

         The Suffolk County Hostage Negotiation team opened up lines of communication with Myers via telephone and began the process of hopefully negotiating a surrender.

         Suffolk Police told Newsday “about seven” more shots were fired once their team arrived. Phone calls between the two parties stretched more than three hours, with authorities urging Myers not to discharge his weapon anymore – some onlookers reported as many as a dozen shots during the course of the event.

         Myers mentioned he was despondent. He was told repeatedly to just leave the building unarmed and he would receive care.

         Myers allegedly fired shots within his apartment and several shots at officers outside as well as firing upon an armored police vehicle during the course of the standoff, County Police said.

         Eventually Myers agreed to surrender and come out without weapons but as he exited the residence, at about 4 PM, county police officials said he was still carrying a shotgun, which he used in a swinging motion according to reports furnished by onlookers. At this point, two officers fired one shot each: one was a non-lethal round, but the other, a live round, hit Myers in the chest and he went down. Police said he had two other guns inside the apartment.

         The New York State Attorney’s Office will likely review the event. Myers was pronounced dead at Stony Brook University Hospital.

rmurphy@indyeastend.com