Rob AriasA standoff between the Emeryville Police Department and someone who may have been having a mental health crisis ended peacefully this morning at about 9:45 p.m.
A man had barricaded himself into a property over the weekend at 4065/67 Watts Street. Employees at the building arrived on Monday to find chairs, boxes and other debris preventing their entry. A service call was made and Emeryville Officers were dispatched to the scene.
The subject was identified as an acquaintance of a contractor working at the location and had his permission to stay at the building. While the man appeared agitated and was nonsensical, he appeared to be unarmed and was not making threats.
Emeryville officers immediately began following deescalation protocols. All Emeryville Police officers are certified in Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) requiring 40 hours of service.
The building lists several small businesses as tenants including a video conferencing solutions company, a mobile services company and an organization called “The Institute for Frontier Science.”
After more than an hour of communication and deescalation efforts, a contractor that was friendly with the man arrived on the scene. The subject voluntarily exited the building and departed the scene with him. The property owner declined to file trespassing charges.
“While the individual appeared to be experiencing symptoms consistent with mental health issues, they did not meet the legal criteria for a 5150 hold,” provided Emeryville Police PIO Baylee Worthen.
The incident was considered resolved by the Emeryville PD by about 11:30 a.m.
All photos: Jordan Potier
Good job everyone! Hopefully he’s got access to the care he needs, but we can never be sure with our healthcare system.