Rowan County Sheriff’s Office
SALISBURY, N.C.– On Monday, April 14, 2025, deputies with the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office responded to a local apartment complex in reference to a welfare check.
Information received from the caller led deputies to believe that there was a male subject inside an apartment that had been drinking, was suicidal and possibly armed with a handgun. The Special Response Team (SRT) along with negotiators responded and were able to contact the individual by phone. Numerous attempts to get him to come out of the apartment were unsuccessful and the individual eventually hung up and stopped communicating with negotiators.
The decision was then made to deploy the Sheriff’s Office Robot to attempt to gain entry to the residence so that contact could be reestablished with the individual to determine if he was armed and to see if he could be persuaded to come out and surrender to deputies. Deputies were able to acquire a key to unlock the door to the apartment.
Once the door was unlocked, the robot was deployed into the apartment, thereby giving the deputies a visual of the inside. Once the robot had gained entry, negotiators were able to communicate with the individual through the robot, to try and convince him to come out. The individual eventually came out without further incident and was transported to a local hospital for evaluation and treatment.
In 2024, Sheriff Allen applied for and received a grant from the state, made possible by Senator Carl Ford and State Representative Harry Warren. Sheriff Allen was able to purchase much needed equipment with this grant, including the robot that was used to bring this incident to a peaceful end.
“Successful missions like these are the reason the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office must use every opportunity available to seek funding to improve and modernize our equipment and services.” Sheriff Travis Allen stated. “One cannot put a price on the life of a citizen or Deputy.”