An 18-year-old Dover woman is receiving treatment at an area hospital following a domestic incident that lead to a vehicle pursuit and barricade incident police said.
Public Information Officer Master Corporal Ryan Schmid said the incident began when officers were called to the unit block of Vera Way for the report of a domestic where a female was in possession of a knife and threatening another subject.
Upon the officer’s arrival, the woman was still in possession of the knife and when officers confronted her, she entered a vehicle and drove away which prompted officers to pursue her. She drove westbound to McKee Road and College Road where she stopped.
While officers were attempting to take her into custody, the woman pulled out a large knife and reversed her vehicle, striking a Dover Police patrol vehicle said Schmid. She then drove northbound on McKee Road to Scarborough Road, eventually traveling southbound on North DuPont Highway, before coming to a stop in the southbound lanes in the 1100 Block of North DuPont Highway when an officer threw spike strips in front of the vehicle. The pursuit lasted approximately 10 minutes.
Officers made contact with the woman at the window of the vehicle and she expressed the intent to harm herself with the knife while refusing to exit the vehicle. An ambulance was requested and the northbound and southbound lanes of North DuPont Highway were closed in the immediate area. Members of the Dover Police Department’s Crisis Negotiations Team spoke to the woman for approximately an hour and a half before she exited the vehicle and was taken into custody. She was transported to an area hospital for an evaluation. No one was injured during this incident and no vehicles were damaged. Schmid said given the sensitive circumstances surrounding this incident, the names of the individuals will not be released.