The Portage SWAT Team arrested a California man after he “wore out his welcome” at a relative’s house Sunday afternoon.

Officers were sent at around 2:14 p.m. January 11 to the 1300 of Camelot Manor for a drunk man wielding a shotgun and threatening to hurt people, Portage Police spokesman Sgt. Rob Maynard said in a release Sunday. The man, Benjamin Allison, 29, of Montrose, California, was staying with family for a short time but was asked to leave Saturday, Maynard said.

The relative with whom Allison was staying then texted him on Sunday to remind him he was no longer welcome and that he needed to leave, Maynard said, but Allison, who was “heavily intoxicated,” refused again. The relative and his wife returned to the house to demand he leave, and the three started arguing, at which point Allison grabbed a shotgun and pointed it at them.

The homeowner and his wife were able to flee the residence unharmed and contact police, but Allison refused to talk to officers who arrived, Maynard said, so officers told neighbors of the relatives to evacuate. After a half-hour of refusing to talk to officers, the department activated its SWAT and Crisis Negotiation teams, he said.

While negotiators were able to get Allison on the phone, he refused to surrender after an hour, so the SWAT Team detonated chemical agents into the home, Maynard said. Allison surrendered after 10 minutes without further incident, and officers retrieved a loaded 12-gauge shotgun from the house.

Allison was taken to the Porter County Jail and was charged with pointing a loaded firearm at a person, a Level 6 Felony, and intimidation while drawing or using a deadly weapon, a Level 5 Felony.

Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/12/one-arrested-after-swat-callout-in-portage/