Hostage crisis ends at Clinton office

cnredd · #1 (**permalink**) 11-30-2007, 07:06 PM

Quote:

ROCHESTER, N.H. - A distraught man wearing what appeared to be a bomb walked into a Hillary Rodham Clinton campaign office Friday and demanded to speak to the candidate during a hostage drama that dragged on for nearly six hours before he peacefully surrendered.

Shortly after releasing the last of at least four hostages, Leeland Eisenberg walked out of the storefront office, put down a homemade bomb-like package and was immediately surrounded by SWAT team with guns drawn.

The suspect — clad in gray slacks, white dress shirt and a red tie — was put on the ground, handcuffed and taken two blocks to the police office in the back of a tactical response vehicle.

The man walked into the office shortly before 1 p.m. and took several hostages, police and witnesses said. He let a woman with an infant go immediately and at least one other woman got out about two hours later.

Seconds before he surrendered, shortly after 6 p.m., the last hostage walked from the office. The hostage then ran down the street toward the police roadblocks surrounding Clinton's office.

Police said earlier no one had been injured, and that appeared to still be true at the end.

Witness Lettie Tzizik told television station WMUR of Manchester that she spoke to the woman who was released first and that she was crying, holding the infant.

"She said, 'You need to call 911. A man has just walked into the Clinton office, opened his coat and showed us a bomb strapped to his chest with duct tape," Tzizik said.

Clinton was in the Washington area at the time, but the confrontation brought her campaign to a standstill just five weeks before the New Hampshire primary, one of the first tests of the presidential campaign season. She canceled all appearances, as did her husband, former President Bill Clinton, and the security around her was increased as a precaution.

The office, in a town of 30,000, is one of many Clinton has around New Hampshire. The campaign said the people taken hostage were volunteers for the campaign.

A law enforcement official confirmed to The Associated Press earlier that the suspect's name was Leeland Eisenberg, and said Eisenberg was an older man known around the town to be mentally unstable. The official declined to be identified because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the case.

The official said the man walked into the campaign office and opened his jacket, revealing what appeared to be a pipe bomb, and that he demanded to speak with Clinton. Authorities did not know what Eisenberg wanted to talk to Clinton about.

They believe the device strapped to the man's chest was made with road flares, not a bomb, the official said.

I hope partisans from either side don't spin this away from what it actually was...a nutcase not taking his medication...

What's more fearful is that someone less mentally unstable(in the medical sense) will parrot this action and start making political demands...

cnredd · #2 (**permalink**) 11-30-2007, 07:13 PM

Here's a letter from the Foster's Daily Democrat from March 20th referring to the hostage taker...

Quote:

Rochester police get slap in the face

To the editor:

The Rochester Police Department was trying to be proactive and help the citizen's of Rochester from thieves and what they got was a slap in the face.

For every minute that Capt. Dumas has to spend dealing with the antics of Leeland Eisenberg it is one less minute he has to spend helping someone with something important. Mr. Eisenberg is wasting the time and the money of the taxpayers.

Police officers risk their life every day helping people, and to make them question if they should put a piece of paper in a car is just wrong.

Why can't people focus on the important things?

Melissa Picard
Rochester

crazyflamingos · #3 (**permalink**) 11-30-2007, 07:25 PM

I don't quite understand the point that the letter writer is trying to make. My town has several such mentally ill individuals who wander around town at times causing disturbances.

I always figured dealing with them was part of the police department's job. Either that or we need to seriously upgrade mental health services because, as it now stands, there is no one else available to deal with them.

cnredd · #4 (**permalink**) 11-30-2007, 07:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crazyflamingos

I don't quite understand the point that the letter writer is trying to make. My town has several such mentally ill individuals who wander around town at times causing disturbances.

I always figured dealing with them was part of the police department's job. Either that or we need to seriously upgrade mental health services because, as it now stands, there is no one else available to deal with them.

The point of the letter was just to show that this guy isn't a flash-in-the-pan guy...

He's got a history with the local police and the public knew about it...

You know how people see news reports where neighbors say "Oh! I never thought the guy was unstable and would do something wacky."?...

This ain't one of them...They might not have known he'd go this far, but they knew he had issues well before this...

crazyflamingos · #5 (**permalink**) 11-30-2007, 07:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cnredd

The point of the letter was just to show that this guy isn't a flash-in-the-pan guy...

He's got a history with the local police and the public knew about it...

You know how people see news reports where neighbors say "Oh! I never thought the guy was unstable and would do something wacky."?...

This ain't one of them...They might not have known he'd go this far, but they knew he had issues well before this...

My point still stands. It is the job of the police to deal with such people when they cause disturbances.

Why would the letter writer think any different?

cnredd · #6 (**permalink**) 11-30-2007, 07:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crazyflamingos

My point still stands. It is the job of the police to deal with such people when they cause disturbances.

Why would the letter writer think any different?

I don't know...

My focus wasn't on the letter's intent...Just an acknowledgement that the guy is known locally...

kit · #7 (**permalink**) 11-30-2007, 08:45 PM

When I first saw this story today, I hate to admit it, but my first thought was: "Gee. I hope Hillary's in the building with him."

Shame on me.

cnredd · #8 (**permalink**) 11-30-2007, 08:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kit

When I first saw this story today, I hate to admit it, but my first thought was: "Gee. I hope Hillary's in the building with him."

Shame on me.

Yeah, but we know you weren't serious...

There ARE people out there that wished things like that for real...

Spencer Collins · #9 (**permalink**) 12-01-2007, 04:15 AM

There are many people who now walk the streets because their state's mental health program believes they are not a threat to themselves or others.In Michigan we released thousands of patients who were institutionalized in order to save revenue.Obviously..a number of these patients are a threat to society because they don't take their medication or cutbacks in mental health have limited badly needed follow up care.This situation was resolved without bloodshed,next time we may not be so lucky..

saltwn · #10 (**permalink**) 12-01-2007, 07:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spencer Collins

There are many people who now walk the streets because their state's mental health program believes they are not a threat to themselves or others.In Michigan we released thousands of patients who were institutionalized in order to save revenue.Obviously..a number of these patients are a threat to society because they don't take their medication or cutbacks in mental health have limited badly needed follow up care.This situation was resolved without bloodshed,next time we may not be so lucky..

There are a lot better treatments (grant you it depends on the state if their available) out there now than ever before.
I am glad some of these people don't live out their lives doing the "Thorazine shuffle".
But there needs to be a better handling of mentally ill people. We have swept them under the rug for so many years, I don't know how long it will take society to accept they have an illness like diabetes or MS or any other debilitating condition.
The thing is (and I just heard something on the radio in reference to this case), they usually don't "qualify" for any help unless and until they get into the criminal justice system.
Same thing with a lot of deficiencies in personality like lack of mothering skills. Depends on the area a person lives in if they have to get thrown in jail for child abuse/neglect before the state will allow them funding for parenting classes.

It's kind of crappy cause we have all these good programs and knowledge, but nobody gets paid if the guy walks in off the street and says, "Hey, I think I'm off my nut. I need a doctor."
They'll either think he's a drug addict trying to get meds or they'll just tell him, "Sorry, we don't have anything for you."
They should be honest and just tell the guy, "We have scads of programs and wonderful medication and therapy and even a place for you to stay during treatment, but thing is, Mr. So-and-so, you'll have to get your ass thrown in jail first!"

PS, Spence. I love your new avatar!

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