APD called to La Quinta Inn on weapons call; SWAT activated

Excerpt

A 51-year-old man was arrested for unlawful restraint and deadly conduct after an hours-long standoff with Amarillo police ended safely Thursday.

A man was arrested, a woman was secured and the scene was declared safe after an hours-long standoff Thursday at the La Quinta Inn, located at 2108 South Coulter. Amarillo police officers had been called out to the scene on a weapons call.

At 12:40 p.m. Thursday, officers were called to the hotel on a report of a man yelling and waving a gun in the parking lot, according to a release issued by the Amarillo Police Department (APD) on Friday morning. Before officers arrived, the male suspect went back into his room. The suspect was identified as Tony Len Nichols, 51. Nichols refused to open door but communicated with officers through the door.

Nichols made threats to shoot the officers on scene and any others who would show up, police said.

As officers spoke to Nichols, a call came into dispatch from a woman claiming to be inside the room, APD said. The woman told dispatch that the man was armed with a gun and that she was not allowed to leave the room.

The APD Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT) was called to the scene.

The APD SWAT team arrived and secured the scene. The Hostage Negotiator Team was able to maintain communication with Nichols and eventually get him to release the woman.

However, Nichols refused to exit the room, and he continued to make threats to officers, police said.

APD SWAT officers introduced chemical irritant into the room, and Nichols began to fire his gun. SWAT officers continued with chemical irritant until Nichols came out and surrendered Thursday evening.

Nichols was arrested for unlawful restraint and deadly conduct. He was booked into the Potter County Detention Center.

No injuries were reported from this incident.