Investigation Continues Into Attorney's Plunge From Hospital Window

Friday, September 28th 2007, 5:41 pm

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ An attorney accused of robbery who plunged three stories from a hospital window managed to barricade himself in his hospital room after the deputy assigned to guard him retrieved a cup of coffee, authorities said.

Robert Behlen, 50, was in critical condition Friday at OU Medical Center with a fractured pelvis and a dislocated hip, said Mark Myers, a spokesman for the Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office.

A deputy assigned to guard Behlen thought the inmate was asleep when he left the room to get a cup of coffee across the hall, Myers said.

``While he was across the hall, (Behlen) was able to barricade the door with a piece of furniture,'' Myers said.

Sheriff's deputies and trained negotiators arrived at the hospital Thursday to try and talk Behlen down from a ledge outside the hospital room.

``We attempted to negotiate with him from the hallway, just outside the door of his room,'' Myers said. ``We kept him engaged for several hours.''

Myers said Behlen was upset that he had been charged in federal court, rather than state court, in connection with the armed robbery of an Edmond pharmacy on September 18.

He was taken to the hospital early Thursday after stabbing himself in the neck with a pencil, Myers said.

After negotiating with Behlen for several hours, members of the sheriff's tactical team moved toward the room on a ledge outside the window after Behlen had gone back into the room.

Myers said the deputies intended to shoot Behlen with a Taser weapon, immobilize him and take him into custody. Instead, as Behlen saw the deputies approach on the ledge, he dove out the window and plunged three stories to a roof below.

``He was able to slide around and through the deputy and jump out of the window, 30 or 40 feet, to the next level,'' Myers said.

David Henry, Behlen's court-appointed attorney, arrived at the scene Thursday and attempted to work with authorities to bring a peaceful end to the standoff.

``It's very disturbing. The whole case is disturbing,'' Henry said.

Henry said Behlen had been scheduled for a court appearance on Thursday, which has been delayed.

Authorities had discussed the possibility of deploying safety nets below the window, but Oklahoma City Deputy Fire Chief Tony Young said the ``life nets'' were taken out of service in 1983.

``When you use them, the firefighters that were holding them were getting serious injuries,'' Young said. ``Even if we had them, we wouldn't have used them in that case.''

Young said firefighters have ladder trucks that can reach 13 stories and are used in rescue situations.

Related Story:

9/27/2007 Attorney Leaps From Hospital Ledge