Standoff at stolen van shuts Hwy. 97 for four hours

An Oregon State Police trooper stopped to check on a van parked along Highway 97 in north-central Oregon Wednesday morning learned it was stolen days ago, and a man was inside. That led to a standoff that shut the road for about four hours and led to his arrest, officers said.

OSP Sgt. John Katzenstein stopped around 9 a.m. to check on the 2006 Ford van parked along the highway about six miles south of Biggs Junction, in Sherman County, said Sgt. Kyle Hove.

OSP dispatchers told Katzenstein the van had been reported stolen out of The Dalles area last Friday, Hove said. The sergeant could see at least one person in the van and called for backup, and another trooper and Sherman County sheriff’s deputy responded to assist.

The man in the van, identified as Dean Allen Bromley 24, of The Dalles. Initially complied with officers’ orders to get out of the van, but “jumped back inside,” Hove said.

Deputies asked for more officers to come to the scene, as Bromley refused to comply with directives and would not come out. Hove said a trained OSP SWAT team negotiator was one of the troopers trying to communicate with him.

More troopers and deputies responded, and the highway was closed in both directions, with ODOT directing traffic onto secondary roads.

The OSP SWAT team responded with an armed vehicle allowing safe access to the van and Bromley.

The SWAT officers deployed “chemical agents and got Bromley to exit the vehicle,” taking him into custody around 12:45 p.m., Hove said.

Bromley was taken to the Northern Oregon Regional Correctional Facility on one count of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. OSP also was assisted by Sherman County Ambulance.