Bowling Green Police Division surrounded a house in the 800 block of Hamilton Court on Wednesday afternoon, after a domestic violence situation was reported.
The police division, aided by the Wood County Sheriff’s Office Special Response Team, arrested Matthew Purdy, 30, of Bowling Green, when he came out of the house. Purdy was charged with domestic violence and aggravated menacing, then taken to the Wood County Jail.
According to the police report, Purdy is known to carry firearms. The victim in the domestic violence case told police that Purdy had on multiple occasions had a gun on him, or went to get a gun to have with him while talking with police officers.
So police surrounded the house and used the division’s trained negotiator to contact Purdy. The negotiator attempted several times to contact Purdy on the phone, but he did not answer. At that point, the Special Response Team was activated and set up a few blocks from the residence.
With the help of a family member, police were able to reach Purdy, who still refused to come out of the house.
Police reportedly could see Purdy in the house, adjusting the blinds and doors.
After some negotiations, Purdy agreed to come out. According to the police report, he refused commands and sat on the bumper of his pickup truck in the driveway and smoked a cigarette. He was eventually taken into custody without incident.
Purdy reportedly told police that if he had known he was going to jail, and not just being served charges, that he would not have come out of the residence for officers.
The incident began earlier in the day, Wednesday, when the owner of the home on Hamilton Court had come to the police station to file a domestic violence report. She had previously filed a report on Oct. 13 for a domestic dispute with Purdy, who was reportedly upset that day because the house wasn’t cleaned.
The police division had responded to the house on Oct. 13, and Purdy had agreed to leave the house for the night. However, according to the woman, he broke into the house a few hours later and slept on the couch. She did not call police again that night.
According to the police report, the argument continued the following day because Purdy was upset that the woman called the police.
The woman told police that Purdy came into the room of their 5-month-old baby, and pointed a gun directly at the woman while she was holding the baby. She put the baby in the crib, then Purdy stood over the baby while pointing the gun at himself, the woman reported.
The woman did not report that incident at the time, and later put the gun back in the safe and hid the safe in a closet.
Then on Tuesday, Nov. 2, Purdy reportedly grabbed the woman and tried to grab the baby while she was breastfeeding. The woman gathered some belongings to leave the house, and spent the night elsewhere before going to the police station the next morning.
The woman told police that when officers responded to her home on Oct. 13, that Purdy got the gun before police arrived. She also said that when police talked to Purdy on the weekend of the Tractor Pull, when they were looking for an intoxicated male in the area, Purdy went inside to get his ID and the gun. He tucked the gun in his waistband, she said.
The woman told police that Purdy had made comments about shooting police.
So out of an abundance of caution, police attempted to contact Purdy by phone Wednesday afternoon, and asked him to exit the home. The gun was confiscated by police as evidence.
