Police Arrest A Man From Bangor, Maine After Tense Rooftop Standoff Wednesday

Authorities are releasing more information about a situation that had one neighborhood in Bangor shut down for almost 8 hours on Wednesday morning.

Sgt. Jason McAmbley, Public Information Officer for the Bangor Police Department, says it was 4 AM when 39-year-old Stephen Nason of Bangor climbed up onto the roof of a home on 14th Street.

The home was not his own. The homeowner awoke to a clatter near the chimney and called the police to try to get the man down.

Nason refused to leave the roof, and in doing so, a standoff of several hours ensued.

Local law enforcement closed down the neighborhood and some surrounding roads to ensure everyone's safety and called in crisis negotiators to aid in the incident.

At one point in time, it was reported that the Bangor Fire Department sent a bucket truck up the Nason. But the situation got complicated when, inadvertently, he took a fire ax that was secured to the bucket and used it to damage the structure.

Bangor's Fire Chief, Geoffrey Low, issued a statement on the Bangor Fire Department's Facebook Page in response to questions that were raised about making such an effort.

"As Chief, I expect all members of the Bangor Fire Department to treat everyone they encounter with dignity and respect. That principle guided our decision to offer water to someone in clear distress. While actions taken were intended to de-escalate the situation, we recognize they had unintended consequences. I regret that the homeowner experienced damage to their property, and we remain committed to learning from this experience."

After many hours of both Nason and law enforcement agents baking in Wednesday's unbearable heat and humidity, the man finally agreed to come down and was immediately taken to the hospital for evaluation.

Read More: Connect With Local Police At Bangor’s Ice Cream Event

"Stephen Nason...was arrested and taken to Penobscot County Jail early
Wednesday afternoon, after being medically cleared at a local hospital, on probation
violation charge, and is also being charged with Aggravated Criminal Mischief, Class C
felony, and Creating a Police Standoff."

Get our free mobile app

Once resolved, residents and motorists were allowed to resume travel throughout the area.

No one was injured during the incident.

Do you have our free app yet? If you don't, give it a try. It lets you listen to us anywhere. You can hear all your favorite songs, plus keep up with everything happening in our area. If you want, we'll even send you alerts when something new happens. There are prizes to win and fun to be had. Just enter your mobile number in the box below, and we'll shoot you a link so you won't miss a thing.

Get our free mobile app