Detective Constable Rebecca Hill, of the Dunedin CIB, walked briskly from the house, clutching her precious package, escorted by a member of the police armed offenders squad as a nearby patrol car raced up from a cordon to collect her.
The three-month-old boy was then delivered into the arms of a waiting St John ambulance crew, who found the baby to be in perfect health.
Senior Sergeant Steve Aitken said the peaceful conclusion to the standoff came after a team of police negotiators entered a house in Forester Ave, in Liberton, to talk to a young father refusing to give up his baby.
The 24-year-old had allegedly been involved in a violent domestic dispute with his partner at another Forester Ave home on Friday night before he fled the scene with his child and vanished for the night.
The father and baby were eventually found inside the basement of a second home - also in Forester Ave - on Saturday afternoon, Snr Sgt Aitken said.
The home and surrounding streets were cordoned off by police, including members of the armed offenders squad, and a tense three-hour standoff ensued as a team of at least three police negotiators attempted to persuade the man to surrender.
The police negotiators eventually entered the basement to talk to the man, who was not armed but would not release his baby, and talked him into giving himself and the baby up, Snr Sgt Aitken said.
"He came close several times and, in the end, he put the baby down and they grabbed it [the baby] and grabbed him," Snr Sgt Aitken said.
Members of the AOS had been deployed as a precaution "because they have more equipment to deal with these situations than frontline staff", Snr Sgt Aitken said.
The father was arrested on "several" outstanding warrants and will appear in the Dunedin District Court today.
Inquiries were continuing, but further charges were likely to follow, Snr Sgt Aitken said.
