BY SUSAN BRYANT

sbryant@tnonline.com

A South Whitehall Township man was taken into custody Jan. 20 after he allegedly had a physical altercation with a family member and threatened to harm others in a residence in the 2200 block of Pirma Avenue.

According to a South Whitehall Township Police news release, the man was inside the home and refused to cooperate with officers who tried to contact him through several different methods.

After not being able to establish communication with him, they requested the assistance of the Lehigh County Municipal Emergency Team, as well as South Whitehall Fire Police.

They arrived a short time later.

Police say out an abundance of caution, they requested a Reverse 911 through Lehigh County Communications advising individuals in the area to shelter in place.

An emergency notification was also sent out through Nextdoor.com for registered users in the area.

Posts to police social media platforms requested individuals avoid the area.

The man eventually was taken into custody after several hours of negotiators trying to establish communication with him, police say.

According to police, the man has been charged with criminal offenses, but as in every criminal case, he is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

“We want to express our appreciation to our officers and the personnel from all assisting agencies for all of their efforts in ensuring a successful outcome,” the news release states.

Domestic violence is serious problem that effects millions of Americans.

Police encourage anyone who needs help and resources for a domestic or intimate partner abuse situation in a nonemergency to reach out to Turning Point of the Lehigh Valley’s 24/7 Hotline at 610-797-0530.

They also encourage anyone who was in the area of the incident but did not receive the Reverse 911 to register for Lehigh County’s system by following the instructions on the county website and downloading the Code Red application on their smartphone.