Members of the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office report the arrest of a Shokan man following an incident alleging he pointed a rifle at a deputy.
Yesterday evening at about 6:30 p.m., the Sheriff’s Department received a call from a concerned friend requesting deputies check on the welfare of Clayton W. Shafer Jr., 52, of Shokan, at a location on Mountain View Avenue in Port Ewen, following some concerning content Shafer had allegedly just posted to his Facebook account.
Upon the deputy’s arrival, Shafer is alleged to have confronted the deputy in the driveway while armed with an AR-15 rifle. A brief standoff ensued, during which a round from Mr. Shafer’s rifle was discharged in a different direction from the deputy. Additional law enforcement personnel soon arrived and Shafer was taken into custody without further incident.
Neither Shafer nor any law enforcement personnel were injured during the incident.
Detectives later executed a search warrant at the incident location and recovered eighteen rifles and shotguns, including the AR-15 alleged to have been used in the incident. At this time, these firearms appear to have been legally possessed.
Shafer was charged with the felony of Menacing a Police/Peace Officer and arraigned in the Town of Esopus Court. He was released to reappear on a later date and an order of protection was issued on behalf of the deputy. Shafer was then removed by deputies to Health Alliance of the Hudson Valley, Broadway Campus, for a mental health evaluation.
This investigation remains active and additional charges will be filed.
Responding to the call were: New York State Police, Town of Ulster Police, Kingston Police, Ulster County Emergency Response Team and Mobile Life Support Support Services.
As always, any person charged with an offense or offenses are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Does it really matter that an AR-15 was used here? Would people be happier if he used a more powerful deer rifle or a shotgun? It’s not the gun, it’s the behavior that matters…