Man charged following hours-long standoff with police on Sunday
(Credit: Dakota County Sheriff's Office)
A Burnsville man has been charged after an hours-long standoff with police on Sunday that caused a shelter-in-place order to be issued.
Christopher Michael Thole, 41, was charged Tuesday with one count each of domestic assault by strangulation and malicious punishment of a child.
According to court records, law enforcement were called to a home on the 1800 block of Country View Drive on Sunday evening after Thole’s 13-year-old daughter called police and reported her father had strangled her and “slammed her to the ground” in front of her younger sibling.
Thole allegedly cornered the child and used his body to push her against a counter before strangling her and throwing her to the ground by her ponytail and shoulder, according to the criminal complaint.
The child tried to go to her room, but Thole followed her, accused her of being a “spy” and ripped a necklace off her neck. The child was eventually able to get away and call her mother from a tablet.
When police arrived, Thole refused to leave or let his children leave, police say. A shelter-in-place order for the neighborhood was issued around 7 p.m., and people were asked to avoid the area.
The complaint says Thole made “numerous non-sensical statements” and was slurring his speech during the several hours of crisis negotiation.
Thole eventually exited the home, court documents state, and was taken into custody. He appeared in court on Tuesday and is due back in court on March 19 for an omnibus hearing.
If you or someone you know is experiencing abuse, several resources are available to offer help. For immediate help, contact:
- The National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233.
- Minnesota Day One at 866-223-1111.
- The Women’s Advocates crisis line at 651-227-8284.
More than 12 million people just in the U.S. are affected by domestic violence every year, according to the National Domestic Violence Hotline.
The organizations listed above can help connect victims to resources like safe shelter, advocacy, legal help and support groups.
The National Domestic Violence Hotline also offers tips for identifying abuse and supporting victims of abuse. CLICK HERE to see those.
Other organizations that can help include:
- Violence Free Minnesota at 651-646-6177 or 800-289-6177.
- STANDPOINT(formerly the Battered Women’s Legal Advocacy Project) at 612-343-9842.
- Mending the Sacred Hoop at 888-305-1650.
- Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual Assault at 612-209-9993.
Minnesota also has a list of many other resources for victims of crimes that can be found HERE.