SWAT standoff ends peacefully in Chattanooga

Emergency medical technicians examine a suspect in the rear of a police car after a stand-off Tuesday. Police responded to a mental distress call in the Ridgedale community and the suspect was eventually arrested and charged with aggravated assault.

Photo by Jake Daniels /Chattanooga Times Free Press.

A SWAT standoff on the 1300 block of Buckley Street ended peacefully Tuesday afternoon after more than an hour of negotiations.

Kenneth Cox, 41, was arrested and charged with aggravated assault after he threw what police said may have been fireworks at officers responding to a mental crisis call at his home, according to Chattanooga police spokesman Officer Nathan Hartwig.

Cox then barricaded himself in the home, and the SWAT team was brought because no one knew if Cox was armed, Hartwig said.

He was the only person in the home during the standoff, Hartwig said, but residents in the surrounding area were evacuated as a precaution.

After about two hours, Cox surrendered.

"We're just glad it ended this way and no one was hurt," Hartwig said.

Cox was taken to Hamilton County Jail.