Domestic violence case sparked standoff, arrest of former Wake deputy

Brad Woodlief, 52, was taken into custody after a four-hour standoff at his home at 11233 Jeffreys Lane sparked by a domestic violence incident.

Woodlief, who retired from the Wake County Sheriff's Office in 2011, was charged with assaulting his wife and knocking her unconscious in October. She said he assaulted her again on Monday and threatened to kill both her and himself, and after he sent her a text on Wednesday again threatening to kill her, she took out a domestic violence protective order against him.

Deputies tried to serve the protective order at about 5 p.m. Wednesday, but Woodlief barricaded himself inside.

"Knowing that he's prior law enforcement, knowing that he has some experience with weapons, that he probably possesses some, owns some, you have to factor all those things in," Sheriff Gerald Baker said Thursday.

Woodlief's wife wrote in her application for the protective order that, although firearms were removed from the house after the earlier assault, she knew her husband had ammunition in the garage and that she believed he had a gun hidden somewhere inside.

At first, deputies kept their distance. They called Woodlief and tried to persuade him to come out peacefully.

"He's not cooperating. He's indicating that's he's not coming out, and that, if we come in, it's not going to be pretty," Baker said.

Believing he was armed, authorities called in the sheriff's office's Tactical Response Team, which battered open the front door at about 9 p.m. and deployed tear gas inside the home before arresting him.

"All this is an effort to avoid any deadly force or any force that's going to hurt him," Baker said. "Our job is to take people into custody safely without any incident, without any harm or injury."

Woodlief was taken to WakeMed after the standoff for observation. When he is released, he will be charged with second-degree kidnapping, assault on a female and communicating threats. Authorities said more charges are pending.