Man arrested after trailer-park standoff
By Jake Bleed
Senior staff writer
A 21-year-old Lincoln man led
police on a half-hour chase that includ
ed the use of a police dog through a
north Lincoln trailer park Thursday
evening, police said.
Police arrested Kenneth Hamilton
after a standoff outside a trailer on N.W.
Quincy Street around 5:15 p.m. Capt.
Robert Kalwamoto said Hamilton was
arrested for making terrorist threats.
Police received a call at 3:29 p.m.
that a man with a knife, believed to be
Hamilton, was seen near the intersec
tion of First Street and Cornhusker
Highway, Kalwamoto said.
Officers arrived in the area but were
unable to contact him, Kalwamoto said.
Another call reached police at 4:46
p.m. about a man with a knife who was
wandering in the Contempo Trailer Park
west of First Street near Interstate 80,
Kalwamoto said.
Police arrived in the trailer park but
Hamilton fled, starting the half-hour
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chase. A police dog took part in a por
tion of the chase, which ended at a trail
er in the 3500 block of N.W. Quincy
Court.
The woman who lived in the trailer
had to be evacuated by police before
Hamilton was taken into custody.
Police refusedto discuss details in
the arrest of Hamilton. But three wit
nesses, who said they grew up with
Hamilton, gave the following account:
Hamilton stood on the trailer’s patio
and f xst pointed a knife at his own chest.
As police approached, Hamilton
turned the knife at them, said Chris
Gibbs, a Contempo Park resident who
said he grew up with Hamilton.
Gibbs said police fired four or five
shots from a “bean-bag gunTat
Hamilton, hitting him once in the chest
and several times in the left leg. A bean
bag gun is a converted grenade launcher
that shoots bean bags filled with metal
shot, intended to incapacitate, not kill.
Police then sprayed mace at
Hamilton, Gibbs said, restrained and
arrested him.
Gibbs, 21, and two other Contempo
Park residents, Justin Schepp, 21, and
Joey Perez, 18, said they drove past
Hamilton between 4:15 p.m. and 4:30
p.m. before police arrived in the area.
Gibbs said Hamilton had a history
of mental instability.
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place to talk
■ Discussion groups
offer students support, as
/ well as a safe place to
discuss problems.
v
By Dane Stickney
Staff writer
Students looking for a safe haven
or just a place to talk about problems
can turn to a number of discussion
groups organized by the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln.
The Women’s Center and
Counseling and Psychological
Services are sponsoring discussion
and support groups to provide stu
dents with an outlet for their prob
lems.
Luis Diaz-Perdomo, a psychology
counselor at University Health
Services, said discussion groups have
existed for many years at UNL but
have evolved over the years to meet
students’ needs.
“We have a series of different
groups that cover a variety of things
depending on the issues that are
brought to us,” he said. “Students will
oftentimes come to us with an idea
and ask us to provide leadership for
discussion groups.”
Diaz-Perdomo deals directly with
the Cross Cultural Communication
Social Group and the Gay Men’s
Discussion Group.
The cross cultural group is geared
to expose people to different commu
nication styles for various cultural
backgrounds, he said. .„
The cross culture group meets
every other Thursday from 3:30 p.m.
to 5 p.m. at Cornerstone, 640 N. 16th
St.
Diaz-Perdomo said the Gay Men’s
Discussion Group acts as a confiden
tial atmosphere for gay and question
ing men to explore their ideas.
“We provide a safe environment
for people to discuss a wide range 6f
topics from coming out to parent rela
tionships to homophobia,” he said.
“It’s an opportunity for them to dis
cuss issues that are important to them
■ —.
with people who have similar ideas
and experiences.”
The Gay Men’s Discussion Group
meets every Wednesday from 6 p.m.
to 7:30 p.m. at an undisclosed loca
tion. Those wishing to be part of the
group must first go through a screen
ing procedure to make sure the class is
right for them.
Diaz-Perdomo said his groups
consist of approximately 10-20 mem
bers and a group leader. Most of the
participants are students, but some are
past students.
Norma Cox, a mental health prac
titioner for Counseling and
Psychological Services, is the facilita
tor for the Grief Support Group and an
eating issues group.
Cox said the Grief Support Group
has been set up to help students who
have lost someone close to them
because of death.
“We teach the students strategies
on how to deal with loss,” she said. “It
doesn’t matter if it was yesterday or 10
years ago, it is still hard to cope with
losing someone you love. I think it is
comforting for people to know that
they’re not the only ones suffering.”
The Grief Support Group meets
on Tuesdays from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30
p.m. at Cornerstone.
An eating issues group helps
women discuss concerns about eat
ing. The group meets on Wednesdays
from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the
Women’s Center.
Cox said both of her groups are
open groups, meaning students are
not obligated to attend every meeting.
“If students come once and don’t
like it, it is OK,” she said. “They can
come Mien they need help.”
Other discussion groups include
Sister Circle: African American
Women’s Discussion Group, which
meets every Monday from 6 to 7 p.m.
at the Women’s Center and Lesbian,
Bisexual and Questioning Discussion
Group, which has yet to disclose its
meeting details.
Those interested in obtaining
more information about the discus
sion groups should call Counseling
and Psychological Services at (402)
472-7450.
