Trouble in the ‘Hood’

There was all sorts of commotion going on Sunday morning in our neighborhood. Mary and I were awakened first by sirens and then the heavy thump of a low flying helicopter.

Evidently, a man armed with a rifle, called the Sparks Police saying he was suicidal. They located Robert Brunsvold near Spanish Springs High School, jus’ off Eagle Canyon, but when they tried to talk with him, he drove into the hills behind the school.

Authorities decided did not follow him. Instead they called in the Washoe County Sheriff’s Raven helicopter, which was able to find the  Brunsvold.

Raven personnel were able to get the license plate from Brunsvold’s vehicle, which lead to his identity. Once they knew who he was, they were able to get his cell phone number and talk to him.

For over six-hours as they talked, he shot at rocks, trees and his vehicle, prompting Sparks Police call in the Reno Police SWAT team. Eventually, they were able to convince Brunsvold to give up.

He was arrested and charged with obstructing with a firearm, and possession of a firearm while intoxicated. Brunsvold, a 10-year veteran of the Washoe County Sheriff’s Department, has been placed on admin leave.

Also, I saw a large, black unmarked vehicle, much like a Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle, that left me wondering what its purpose could be, and no one would tell me. It was parked in the lot across from the high school at Shaw Middle School. (Perhaps a modern version of the ‘Black Mariah?’)

It’s stuff like this that make me worry about our civil liberties and how fast they can be taken from us and how we’ll never know who ‘they’ are.