Police show professionalism during ordeal

Police standoffs with armed gunmen are, thank goodness, a rare occurrence in Cape Girardeau. This fact certainly magnified the 7 1/2-hour ordeal last week in which a man inside a mobile home threatened the safety of police officers and nearby residents before surrendering.

To say that the situation was tense during those long hours hardly does an adequate job of describing the scene. Police were worried the gunman, later identified as a South Carolina man visiting relatives here, would injure or kill someone. They had good reason to worry. The man fired a shotgun and rifle several times during the night.

As daylight approached, the police assessment was grim. The man refused to talk to police. And the mobile home he was in contained several guns and a large quantity of ammunition. SWAT teams stood ready to take whatever action was necessary.

In the end, the man gave himself up after the mobile home was filled with debilitating pepper spray from canisters fired through the windows. Police officials were relieved that there had been no serious injuries, and they praised their officers for the way the situation was handled and not allowed to get out of control.

The police department had a tough assignment on its hands that long night. We can all be proud of the professional way in which this situation was handled.