Hanna marshal helps Medicine Bow

It was almost out of a movie script.

A snow storm shuts down two highways leading to a remote small town of about 300 people in a large Western state. A classic, historical, old hotel has a guest sign in as Donald J. Trump. The man proceeds to get violent, throwing chairs at guests and pulls out guns according to 11 calls coming into 911 dispatch for the huge county.

The worst part?

This town has no law enforcement stationed in its limits and depends on the sheriff’s department in the county seat 60 miles away. With the roads closed, the town’s residents are keenly aware they might have to protect themselves from this intruder.

This is not a movie script waiting to be made. It was an incident that happened two days before Thanksgiving at 12:45 p.m. on Nov. 26 at the Virginian Hotel in Medicine Bow.

Hanna Marshall Jeff Neimark heard the calls coming over the radio.

“I heard the sheriff’s deputy was responding to the call, and it was apparent it was escalating,” Neimark said. “I advised Carbon County dispatch I was available because I knew how long it would take for the deputy to get there with the roads and I knew I could make the response time quicker. I was then advised by the Carbon County’s Sheriff’s Office to respond to the Virginian Hotel to assist them.”

On the 20 miles of closed, icy, snow covered roads, Neimark said he still found himself going 85 to 90 miles per hour. His response time was under 15 minutes.

While speeding down Highway 30 it was reported by dispatch the suspect was pointing a gun at someone and taking a hostage. Neimark realized this man could bolt from the hotel, and taking no chances, called for a lockdown at the Medicine Bow Elementary School that, due to the weather, was in a special attendance session (See “North County contingencies” on page 5 of Nov. 27 Saratoga Sun) because of the heavy snowfall. This meant there were extra staff and Hanna, Elk Mountain, Medicine Bow (HEM) High School students at the elementary school.

“As I was driving, I was being given constant updates by dispatch that said he had several weapons, two weapons, one in each hand; that he was pointing the gun at the building.

(This is when Neimark discerned the man was threatening the town as a whole).

Then I heard he had now taken a hostage, and then that is when I told dispatch, if school was in session, lock them down,” Neimark said. “I then instructed the ambulance that was coming from Hanna to wait on the corner of 487 and 30 for it to be able to respond quickly, but be safe.”

Neimark said he was glad he did this. Some people were injured during the incident but he wanted to keep everyone safe as possible, yet have emergency personnel in case injuries were life threatening.

The Hanna Marshall told dispatch to put a Code Red Emergency notification for the residents of Medicine Bow.

“Then I heard citizens were already arming themselves,” Neimark said. “So this was when it was essential I got from dispatch what the guy was wearing.”

Neimark parked behind the Virginian and donned his rifle gear. He said, while suiting up, several patrons came up to him with their arms raised telling Neimark the suspect was crazy.

Neimark went into the hotel.

“I cleared the kitchen, I cleared the bar and there I saw one of the injured who told me the suspect went out the back,” Neimark said. “There were a few people hurt from being hit by chairs and this made me realize this was a person who wasn’t concerned about causing harm to others.”

Neimark encountered the suspect outside.

At this point, he wanted to try and use less-than-lethal weaponsthat were in his truck. A nearby citizen, who told Neimark he was an ex-police officer, asked if there was anything he could do to help.

Neimark asked him to retrieve his less-than-lethal weapon in the police vehicle.

Neimark said he really appreciated the public’s willingness to help him as faced down the suspect, but he knew it was up to him to keep the public out of harm.

“When you are the only law enforcement facing down this situation, I was thankful for a citizen to help me get the less than lethal weaponry,” Neimark said. “When I first got to the scene, rifle gear was what I decided might be needed, especially if hostages were involved. Then I resolved less than lethal weaponry would be appropriate when I finally encountered the suspect.”

Neimark said the hostility the suspect was showing required him to shoot two drag stabilized Bean Bags Rounds. The marshal knew backup was probably still 20 minutes away at best and the suspect was still threatening the public.

“The training that I received in this type of law enforcement, and the equipment we have at our disposal, all comes into play when it comes to this type of situation happens,” Neimark said. “The training really paid off because that was what the program I took was all about. It gives officers different methods than using lethal force and it is about saving lives.”

After the two rounds of bean bags Neimark decided to fire an OC (Oleosin Capsicum) pepper round (pepper spray) and a CS (2-chlorobenazmalanitrile) round to deter the suspect from attacking anyone and to stop him from escaping. CS is used in spray form by many police forces to temporarily incapacitate and subdue people who are violently aggressive.

When Sheriff Deputy Dave Redding arrived on scene, the suspect was apprehended and put in the deputy’s vehicle. Neimark said once the scene was secure, the ambulance came to the Virginian to look at patrons and staff who were injured during the incident.

Medicine Bow is currently in the process of hiring a law enforcement officer after 20 years without.

Mayor Sharon Biamon said she is hopeful to have the candidates narrowed down in the weeks to come. Neimark is helping the town vet the different applicants.

Biamon said the town has tried to get a law enforcement officer for years but the revenue stream of the town could not afford the expense. She said although there are federal grants to help a town’s existing police departments, there are no grants available to help towns create a force.

She said she finds it ironic how small, remote rural towns that often need financial help to field a protective force are not even considered, yet there are several federal agencies that help an existing police department with equipment and personnel.

Biamon is glad Medicine Bow will have law enforcement soon, but she empathizes with towns all over the state and country that find themselves in the situation Medicine Bow has been in.

Neimark said he has stronger empathy for the Carbon County Sherrif’s Department.

“I have always had respect for the sheriff’s department, but I became that much more aware of how difficult it is to cover these towns without much backup,” Neimark said. “Throw in weather conditions like we just had and time being of the essence, doing what they do can be very hard. Honestly, not every law enforcement officer can do this.”

Neimark said he has been thanked by the sheriff’s office for his effort. The Hanna Marshal said when he can be of assistance to the sheriff’s department, he is happy to do what he can.

“Our office has responded numerous times throughout the last several years to Medicine Bow to assist the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office,” Neimark said. “We work together very well as we all have same goal; protecting lives.”

Neimark explained further about why he immediately responded to the incident on Nov. 26.

“When you go into a situation like this, with back up far away, you just think about saving lives and protecting people,” Neimark pointed out. “This is what we train for, this is what we do. Whether its one officer, three or five, we go to where the threat is and stop the threat.”

Although there was thousands of dollars of property damage to the hotel and cars parked outside, and there were injured, the incident had no fatalities.

This may not have been a movie script, but Neimark’s quick response led to a pretty good ending. The suspect was apprehended and the town of Medicine Bow is safe again and looking forward to when it hires its own police officer.

That time is not far away and, for many residents of this small town, this incident proves why it can’t come soon enough.