POLAND – A former police officer who threatened to shoot his wife, kill himself and burn their house down held police at bay for 12 hours before surrendering Friday afternoon, authorities said.

Richard Greaton, 71, fired one shot but no one was hurt after officers arrived at midnight Thursday to charge him with terrorizing, said Capt. Raymond Lafrance of the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Department.

Greaton, a truck driver who was an Auburn police officer in the 1960s, was distraught after his wife left him and he learned that she was seeing another man, Lafrance said. He was being evaluated at a Lewiston hospital.

The incident began when Greaton’s adult children reported to the Lewiston Police Department that they were concerned for the safety of their mother after Greaton’s threats, Lafrance said.

Because of the threats, Lewiston officers intercepted the bus on which Sharon Greaton was working for a tour company and brought her to safety Thursday night. Then deputies went to Greaton’s home, Lafrance said.

Greaton told officers to stay away and fired one shot from a .357 Magnum to make his point, Lafrance said. He surrendered 12 hours later after talking to a trooper he had worked with years ago.

Greaton faces charges of terrorizing and causing a police standoff, Lafrance said. It was unclear Friday evening whether he would be hospitalized or taken to Androscoggin County Jail.