Man in Custody After ‘Suspicious’ Vehicle Parks Outside Supreme Court
WASHINGTON – U.S. Capitol Police took a 55-year-old Michigan man into custody Tuesday after he was “extracted” from what law enforcement described as a “suspicious vehicle” parked near the Supreme Court building.
“One of our teams just moved in and extracted the man from the SUV. The man is in custody. Everyone is safe,” Capitol Police said on Twitter at about 11 a.m. Tuesday morning.
The department later identified the individual as Dale Paul Melvin of Kimball, Michigan.
In a press release posted to the department’s website Tuesday afternoon, its public information office said Tuesday’s incident was Melvin’s second appearance in the vicinity of the Capitol Complex in the past three months.
In August, the release said, Melvin made “concerning statements.” It does not describe who police responded to those statements at the time.
On Tuesday, Melvin illegally parked in front of the Supreme Court and refused to leave. He was arrested on charges of Failure to Obey and Assault on a Police Officer.
The justices of the Supreme Court returned to their historic courtroom for their first in-person arguments in nearly 18 months only yesterday. In two days they have so far not heard arguments in any of the term’s more controversial cases.
It was about 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, when Capitol Police first approached the illegally parked Chevy Tahoe and soon it was encircled by a number of law enforcement vehicles.
According to the department, Melvin appeared to be frustrated, refused to talk to our officers, and said, “The time for talking is done.”
Officers cleared the area out of an abundance of caution.
As a result, First Street between Independence Avenue, SE and Constitution Avenue, NE; Second Street between East Capitol Street and Constitution Avenue, NE; and East Capitol Street between First and Second Streets, NE were all closed for much of morning and into the early afternoon.
Capitol Police crisis negation officers tried to speak with Melvin, but he refused to talk, the department said.
Finally, a Capitol Police Containment and Emergency Response Team, which is similar to a SWAT team, pulled Melvin from the SUV.
As of Tuesday afternoon the vehicle was still being searched, but no weapons had been found to that point.
“I would like to express my appreciation for all of our officers as well as the Supreme Court Police officers,” said Deputy Chief Jason Bell of the Capitol Police’s Operational Services Bureau. “Everybody did an outstanding job to keep our Congressional Campus safe.”
