A Bowling Green man was arrested and charged with inducing panic Wednesday after a two-hour standoff with
police.
Tracy L. Crouch, 42, was found unconscious in his garage at 16 Arlington Court nearly two hours after the
initial call was received at 4:45 p.m., and was taken into custody by the Wood County Sheriff’s Special
Response Team, which was providing aid at the scene.
He remained at Wood County Hospital this morning.
The incident began in what’s locally known as the Westgate community after a neighbor called police to
report Crouch was outside acting in what appeared to be an irrational and unusual manner.
When Ptl. Ryan Tackett arrived at the home on the check-the-welfare complaint, he reportedly heard a male
subject inside yell something indiscernible followed by what sounded like a shotgun round being cycled
into the chamber.
Tackett ran to his patrol car for cover and alerted the department of the situation.
Traffic was blocked on Martindale Road at the Pearl Street, Lyn Road and Charles Street intersections.
Two homes on Charles Street, plus homes adjacent to Crouch’s residence, which sits on south side of the
Arlington Court cul-de-sac, also were evacuated.
At 5:35 p.m., the county’s SRT arrived on scene and relieved city police officers of their positions.
The Bowling Green Police Division Crisis Team was activated and for the next hour attempted to initiate
crisis negotiation procedures. Attempts to contact Crouch via land line and cellular phone were
unsuccessful. Negotiators surmised that Crouch most likely was intoxicated and had ingested medications,
according to the report filed by police Sgt. Mark McDonough. Soon after, police requested phone
companies shut off service to the home.
At 6:45 p.m., an SRT squad approached the residence to deliver a "throw phone" for further
negotiations, and observed Crouch lying on the garage floor. Team members broke through the front door
and interior garage door, found Crouch on the floor, and took him into custody.
McDonough said the man was breathing but not conscious.
No shots were fired during the incident. However, weapons, both loaded and unloaded, were found inside
the house after Crouch was taken into custody.
Police confiscated a Mossberg shotgun, Daisy BB gun, Remington 22-caliber rifle with scope, an Ithaca
12-gauge shotgun, and a bag containing nearly 70 rounds of ammunition for the weapons. Officers also
recovered a knife and Matthews bow with arrows.
The rifle was loaded and a shotgun round was found on the floor, according to police Lt. Tony Hetrick.

"No one saw him holding a weapon," he said this morning, but added it was the sound of the
pump-action shotgun that initiated the police response.
The charge of inducing panic is a fifth-degree felony, but does not carry a mandatory jail sentence,
Hetrick said. He added it will be up to the prosecuting attorney’s office to decide whether to add a gun
specification to the charge, which would add three years to any sentence.
Residents who had been evacuated from their homes were allowed to return shortly after 7 p.m. and streets
were reopened.
Bowling Green State University Police provided mutual aid and answered all other city calls for service
during the standoff, including a traffic crash, welfare check and report of theft.
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Photo captions: Story: Members of Wood County Sheriff’s SRT on scene Wednesday in Bowling Green.
Front page: Two officers leave the scene of Wednesday’s incident in Bowling Green.
Aaron Carpenter/Sentinel-Tribune