The following is the Guam Police Department’s account of this morning’s standoff with police along Aspinal Ave. in Hagatna:
On August 19, 2024, at about 8:30AM, a woman while at work at Bank Pacific in Hagatna, reported to police that she had received death threats from a man known to her, alleging that he would come into the bank and do harm. She also reported to police that she saw him inside his car parked outside the bank. Central Precinct patrol officers responded to the bank where they met with the victim and searched the surrounding areas but were unsuccessful in finding him.
Approximately two hours, police received a second call from the bank, this time from a co-worker of the victim, who reported that the suspect was parked outside the bank; bank officials immediately locked the bank down for the safety of the public and bank employees. Central Precinct patrol officers responded again and this time spotted the suspect vehicle motoring on Aspinal Dr, in Haganta and conducted a stop of the suspect near the Carabao Brewery. Patrol officers approached the vehicle and the male suspect, but the suspect refused to comply with the police officer’s instructions and threatened them. Due the severity of this threat, police closed down the surrounding streets and in coordination with the islands media issued a Public Safety Broadcast warning the public of the situation and to stay out of the area.
The suspect continued to defy police orders to surrender and demanded they kill him; a commonly known plea from suspects known as “suicide by cop.” Soon after, units from the Special Operations Command arrived on scene and took command of the incident. They deployed de-escalation techniques but the suspect refused to surrender and continued his pleas to be killed by the police. After nearly an hour of failed negotiations, SWAT breached the window to the vehicle and extracted the suspect, safely but with the suspect sustaining minor injuries he sustained while being extracted from the vehicle.
The suspect; Joseph David Calvo Atalig, age 38, from Talafofo, was arrested for Terrorizing, Terroristic Conduct, Stalking, Family Violence, Resisting Arrest, and Possession of a Controlled Substance (Schedule II). He was booked and confined and his arrest is forwarded to the Attorney General’s Office for prosecution.
GPD extends their appreciation to the islands media for their assistance with broadcasting the service announcement and to the public for staying out from the area to allow the police to bring the matter to a safe closure.
