Published On: Wed, Apr 2nd, 2014

Barricaded Man Surrenders to SWAT after Hostage Situation in Home

brt Dominic BernardineBy Jason Schwartz

A five-hour standoff Monday at a home where a man barricaded himself and his 13-year-old son inside was the result of an argument between the man and his 16-year-old daughter over a curfew and using the car, authorities said.

In the end, police charged Dominic Bernardine with two counts of Child Abuse. A judge imposed a $5,000 bond for each count of Child Abuse.

No one was injured in the incident in the 600 block of Northwest 13th Street, just south of Glades Road and near Florida Atlantic University.

The girl called police to the home around 1:30 p.m. after she said Bernardine, 40, pushed her to the ground, according to the arrest report. He also poured cans of Coca-Cola on her belongings and smashed her MacBook computer on a garage floor, she continued.

She told police that he was, “going wild pacing back-and-forth, cursing, yelling, screaming, sweating and foaming at the mouth,” according to the report.
The pair began arguing when the girl was 30 minutes late for curfew and Bernadine revoked her weekend privileges for her car.

She wanted to use the car Monday but Bernardine decided he needed it, which kicked off another argument, police said.

When officers arrived to the domestic disturbance, they found the girl outside and Bernardine holed up inside. Bernardine threw the girl out of the house as officers arrived, police said

SWAT team members surrounded the home as hostage negotiators tried to get the man to surrender peacefully.

Police locked down the neighborhood and ordered residents to stay inside.

Bernardine surrendered shortly before 7 p.m.

BRT Swat

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