Pittsfield man sentenced for threating police with a crossbow

A Pittsfield man was sentenced to five years in jail Wednesday for threatening police with a crossbow and violating a restraining order, the Berkshire district attorney’s office said.

Timothy Tatro, 40, was found guilty of assault with a dangerous weapon and violating an abuse prevention order and sentenced to five years in the Berkshire County House of Corrections, the district attorney’s office said in a statement.

He was sentenced to two and a half years for the first charge and a subsequent two and a half years for the second charge, the statement said.

Cheshire police and State Police went to Tatro’s home at the Pine Valley Trailer Park in Cheshire on March 23 to serve a restraining order, and he pointed a crossbow at the police and refused to leave, the statement said.

State Police negotiated for almost six hours while Tatro barricaded himself until they entered the home and he was arrested, the office said.

“I thank the Cheshire Police and the Massachusetts State Police for safely bringing Mr. Tatro into custody,” District Attorney Andrea Harrington said in the statement. “Domestic violence responses, in particular, present a significant threat to officer safety, and law enforcement handled this situation professionally and ensured everyone’s safety.”