After six hours, Cliffside Park SWAT standoff ends peacefully

CLIFFSIDE PARK — A man throwing coffee mugs at patrons of a restaurant on Palisade Avenue on Thursday night resulted in a six-hour standoff with Bergen County SWAT, according to a borough spokesman.

The standoff was resolved peacefully, according to a law enforcement official on scene. 

Witnesses said the man could be seen on a stretcher being taken away around 2:15 a.m. No gunfire could be heard before the situation was resolved and officers could be seen shaking hands and congratulating each other around 2:30 a.m.

"At 8:12 p.m., Cliffside Park PD was called to Marion Road, an EDP (emotionally disturbed person) was throwing objects from the roof of a home at patrons of a restaurant," Cliffside Park spokesman Bill Maer said. "The police confronted the suspect, (he) barricaded himself in the home and the BC Regional SWAT Team was called to the scene."

A law enforcement official who declined to give his name said the man had entered the restaurant with a weapon briefly. The man did not have a gun but the official did not know what type of weapon it was. 

Just after 11 p.m., five loud bangs could be heard and more could be heard at several times during the night. Witnesses said they believed them to be stun grenades or flash bangs, not gunshots. 

Mark Epchteine of Fort Lee said, "I talked to a fire official who was like 'the guy barricaded himself in,' there may be someone with him. They're not sure if he's armed."

Maer said he wasn't able to provide any information on hostages.

Earlier, police could be heard using a loudspeaker to communicate with someone inside one of the buildings, although it was not clear what they were saying.

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Residents at the scene from neighboring Ridgefield said their parents went to school with the man the police allegedly were trying to communicate with. They also said he is in his mid-40s. 

The police were situated near Kaname Restaurant and the Shobo Music Academy on Palisade Avenue. Epchteine said the neighborhood is a quiet one normally. 

When the officers first arrived, witness Brian O'Connor of Emerson said police had lights shining on a house near a convenience store and told him to quickly leave the area. 

"They told us to come fast, fast, fast," O'Connor said. 

Heavily armored officers with weapons could be seen at the scene along with the county bomb squad. 

Police from Cliffside Park, Park Ridge, Carlstadt, Westwood and Franklin Lakes were at the scene. 

Staff writer John Connolly contributed to this article.