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This section invites members to submit for posting summaries of incident debriefs which will inform and educate the membership. Briefings will allow members to share the challenges crisis negotiators face around the world with a reflection of recent critical incidents. For more information about viewed incident briefings, please "Private Message" the posting member.
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The following incident was submitted by member tmcneal. If you would like further details please "Private Message" the submitting member.
"Planned event - Negotiating with a mentally ill subject"
**** Police Department CRISIS NEGOTIATION TEAM AFTER ACTION REPORT
PREPARED BY: Cpl. ******
INCIDENT DATE: 06-28-2007
LOCATION: Case#
SUBJECT: ***** ***** W/M/09-10-1945
1700 hrs. On Thursday, 06-28-2007 the ****** Police Department Negotiators and Response Team were called out to the Law Enforcement Center regarding a planned activity for the evening.
1740 hrs. The briefing to both teams began in the major case room and it was learned that ***** ******, w/m/09-10-1945, 6’5”, 250 lbs. had a Felony Warrant for his arrest from a Criminal Threat incident that had occurred a few days earlier. Due to his deteriorating mental health and the possibility of violence the Negotiator Team will be used to coax him out of the residence so the Response Team can take him into custody. His home address at **** ** ***** Apt. *** was on the second floor of an all brick building. The rear of his apartment where he had a balcony with a sliding glass door faced to the south overlooking a courtyard and the front of the apartment faced to the north and a set of windows looked over a parking lot. He had only one door into the apartment that faced to the west and opened at the top of a common stairway that was contained in an open breezeway. By all accounts Mr. ****** had been having some growing mental health issues and it was learned that he was a VA Patient from the Vietnam Era and was being treated by them for his mental health condition. It was unknown what type of meds he may have been on or what he had been diagnosed with. Mr. ****** had made statements in the past that he believed the local police were in fact the KGB and officers who had been to his apartment on past calls stated that he had many empty bottles of liquor and a large collection of knives placed all around the department to include a large ninja sword. It was also known that he had assaulted officers from a different jurisdiction in the past and that was a major concern with us this evening as the operation was to begin. A key to the apartment had been obtained though we did not know if it was the proper key for the front door. Mr. ****** had been attending Unity Church of Christianity and we had been in contact with the Pastor, ******* ******* who told officers that Mr. ****** told him recently to call the police when he got to a point where he was not acting correctly and that the police would know how to handle him. Det. ****** went out ahead to scout the location for the Response Team to see if he could determine if Mr. ****** was present at the apartment. Lt. ***** as O.I.C. of the Negotiator Team, assigned Cpl. ****** as Primary Negotiator, Cpl. **** as Secondary Negotiator, Det. ***** as the Scribe, Officer **** as Intelligence and Monitor and Det. ****** as Intelligence and Monitor. After readying equipment and loading it up both the Negotiators and Response Team moved to a staging area in the **** blk. of ** ******.
1900 hrs. Both units arrive and begin to set up equipment for deployment. The Incident Command Trailer was set up as a base of operations on ** ***** St. and the Negotiators prepared the remote loud speaker system and the throw phone to be used. The Response Team moved in to secure the inner perimeter.
1915 hrs. The set up preparations were complete and the Negotiators conducted a final brief to strategize prior to making contact with Mr. ******. It was decided that we would attempt to make contact with him by telephone first before deploying any other options.
1925 hrs. Cpl. ****** attempted to call Mr. ******’s cell phone, ***-****, which was disconnected. We then called his home phone, ***-****, which rang and Response Team officers stated they could hear ringing inside the apartment. There was no answer but we continued to try three more times. Each time we called we let the phone ring at least ten times before hanging up for a few seconds then trying again.
1930 hrs. Lt. *****decided that since there was no contact with Mr. ****** by telephone that Cpl. ****** and Cpl. **** would deploy closer to the building with the remote loud speaker system to try and make contact that way. Det. ***** continued to attempt to call the home telephone and will do so 23 more times in the next hour. The Response Team put the speakers into position and Corporals ****** and **** took a position on the side of the building where they could be close enough for the system to work but still remain a safe distance away.
1954 hrs. Cpl. ****** began to speak to Mr. ****** over the remote loud speaker system. He was told who we were, why we were there and asked to come out of his apartment. There was no verbal response but Response Team officers reported that they could see him at a back window.
2000 hrs. Cpl. ****** continued to try to make contact with Mr. ****** through the remote loud speaker system without any success.
2016 hrs. Mr. ****** was spotted by Response Team officers at his back door wearing a red shirt. Cpl. ****** is still trying to get him to make contact with the officers outside the apartment or to pick up the home telephone as Det. ***** keeps calling.
2033 hrs. Det. ***** discontinues calling the home telephone number. Cpl. ****** continues to use the remote loud speaker system to try to contact Mr. ****** but he has not been seen for some time at the windows.
2036 hrs. Pastor ******* ******* arrives at the command post and is debriefed before it is decided that he be taken to Cpl. ******’s location to have him speak to Mr. ****** over the remote loud speaker system.
2044 hrs. Pastor ******* is moved to our location and is briefed by Cpl. ****** and Cpl. ****.
2056 hrs. Pastor ******* is introduced by Cpl. ****** and attempts to speak to Mr. ****** through the remote loud speaker system. He also has no success in getting him to respond.
2101 hrs. The automatic outdoor lighting for the apartment complex comes on. Response Team officers turn off some of the lights around their positions. Pastor ******* continues to talk to Mr. ****** while being coached by Cpl. ****** and Cpl. ****. It has been some time since there was any visible movement in the apartment but reports from the residence below his apartment is stating that Mr. ****** is walking throughout all the rooms.
2125 hrs. Pastor ******* is still on the remote loud speaker system when Response Team officers use a ladder and a pike pole to break out the sliding glass door to the apartment and introduce the throw phone into the home. Pastor ******* explains to Mr. ****** through the remote loud speaker system what is going on and directs him to pick up the throw phone and speak to the officer on the other end.
2128 hrs. Response Team officers attempt to open the hole in the sliding glass door larger and Mr. ****** yells at them from inside the apartment as the glass breaks. Sgt. *******of the Response Team begins to yell commands from the ground floor outside for Mr. ****** to go to his front door and surrender to the officers waiting outside. They are yelling back and forth so Cpl. ****** made his way to the rear of the apartment and with approval from the Response Team climbed over a small wooden fence to the patio directly under Mr. ******’s apartment and began to take over the direct negotiations.
2132 hrs. It is clear early on that Mr. ****** is suffering from severe mental health issues as he rambles on sometimes incoherently about obscure subjects and refuses to get into direct negotiations with Cpl. ****** or comply with basic requests. He was completely naked and made no attempts to cover himself. He asks Cpl. ****** to step out so that he could be seen and with the permission and cover of the Response Team he does. Cpl. ****** continues to try and get Mr. ****** to engage in conversation but it will only work for a few seconds at a time. Even then the topic has nothing to do with the problems of this evening and Mr. ****** rambles on about his unusual beliefs and theories.
2145 hrs. Cpl. ****** focuses just on asking Mr. ****** to pick up the throw phone and talk on it. He has requested to speak with a Sherriff Deputy and is told that there will be one available to speak with him. He begins to pick up household items and throw them out of the apartment in our general direction through the hole in the sliding glass door. He is asked several times to stop throwing things but he continues to do so. It is not believed that he is trying to strike anyone with the items since he does not even look where they are falling most of the time. One of the items he throws out of the apartment is a large ninja sword. A pile of broken dishes, computer parts and glass is growing on the courtyard sidewalk. Mr. ****** seems to be becoming even less in touch with the situation and is refusing to engage in direct conversation at all. He continually yells at the officers outside and has little reaction to the things being said to him.
2155 hrs. Mr. ****** picked up the throw phone and throws it onto a table sitting on his balcony. Response Team officers retrieve it and toss it back through the hole in the sliding glass door and Cpl. ****** again tries to get Mr. ****** to talk to officers on the throw phone. He goes back to throwing items out the door in our direction.
2201 hrs. Mr. ****** picks up the throw phone again and Cpl. ****** yells instructions to him to pick up the receiver and talk to the officer on the other end. He does pick up the receiver and yells into it several times. He then announces to us that the phone is broken and throws it out the door and over the railing of the balcony where it strikes the pavement. Sgt. ******* picks it up and attempts to make it work again but is no longer working. Mr. ****** goes back to yelling and throwing things out the door. He still refuses to engage in conversation for more than a few seconds.
2211 hrs. Response Team officers breach the front door to the apartment using the key provided and have to break in the chain lock. Mr. ****** moved back into the apartment and heard the commotion at the door. He attempted to throw himself against the door to hold it closed but the Response Team officers were able to move him off of it. Other Response Team officers climb the ladder onto the balcony and enter through the broken sliding glass door and Mr. ****** was taken into custody after a Taser was deployed to subdue him. Sgt. ******* received a minor cut to his elbow after falling down during the entry through the balcony.
2213 hrs. Response Team officers call the apartment as secure and Mr. ******* has the Taser probes removed by officers and is provided with clothes to wear before being transported to the ******* County Department of Corrections by Sgt. **** of the Uniform Patrol Division. Remaining Response Team and Negotiator Team officers repack their equipment and conduct debriefs before leaving the scene.
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The following incident briefing was submitted by member, SAM9. If you would like further details please "Private Message" the submitting member.
"Suicidal bridge jumper"
On 02-07-08 1720 hrs. Officers were dispatched to a female who had called suicide prevention and stated that she was going to jump off a bridge. Officers checked the area and located the female who was a 38 year old single female. She was seated on the lower level of the bridge sitting on a 2 inch steel beam that had another 2 inch steel beam running next to it approximately 1 foot away to the rear of her body. She had a very short conversation with the first two responding patrol officers and was crying.
Fire was on scene and the patrol sergeant requested a fire boat be deployed in the water along with firefighters to start donning rescue gear. The bridge was backed up with rush hour traffic with several onlookers yelling to the woman to “Jump”. Once all negotiators arrived (3 total) the bridge was closed to all traffic and diverted. The noise the traffic was making was very loud for the first responding patrol officer to negotiate until the traffic was shut down. The primary negotiator and secondary negotiator began listening to the patrol officers who were attempting to converse with the jumper. About 15 minutes into the negotiation the jumper became very angry and started crying hysterically along with growling loudly. She then started to rock back and forth as if she was building up courage to jump. She was only holding on with one hand at times leaning all the way over the beam.
She was seated approximately 60 feet high over a very large rock formation so if she had jumped or fallen there was a high probability she would not have survived. The scene became very intense when the jumper became angry accusing one of the patrol officers of lying to her about getting her a cup of coffee. The jumper kept stating that all people are liars and that the officer was lying about getting her coffee. The secondary negotiator then interceded and told the patrol officer that she was done and that the primary negotiator was going to introduce himself. The primary negotiator introduced himself and started to converse with the jumper. The jumpers emotional reaction began to calm and the primary negotiator was able to maintain a dialog with the jumper to a degree.
At one point during our negotiation fire personnel decided to dump a large bag of climbing carabineers on the wood surface of the bridge directly behind the jumper which was very loud and startled the jumper. Fire was attempting to set up their rescue ropes to prepare for a rescue. During this time a commanding officer from our agency donned a waist style rescue harness and stood by with one of the fire departments firefighters who had donned a full waist and chest harness. While the primary negotiator was talking to the jumper the commanding officer that had donned the waist harness stood by and listened to the negotiations.
After about an hour of negotiating the jumper appeared weak and started to cast a feeling that she was “Done” sitting on that cold steel beam. As the primary negotiator was preparing to navigate the jumper into surrender the commanding officer who donned the waist harness jumped over the fence to prepare to assist the jumper in a rescue. He quickly introduced himself to the jumper by stating his first name and asked the jumper if he could come down there and help her. This startled the primary negotiator and he quickly reiterated the introduction of the commanding officer and asked the jumper if she would be willing to have the commanding officer help her off the bridge and she nodded in agreement.
The commanding officer climbed down to her and kindly asked her if he could place his hand on her shoulder for comfort and support, and joked with her about him being afraid of heights. The jumper laughed and said, “Well maybe now is the time for me to jump” in a joking fashion. With the assistance of all present the commanding officer contacted the jumper and assisted her to the top of the bridge and over the rail. The jumper was taken into custody, given some coffee as promised and taken to a patrol car for an attempted debriefing by the primary negotiator.
The jumper stated that she had a boyfriend of 20 years who had stated a bunch of lies about her to many of her friends and that she was very hurt by that. She stated that she was on disability from her construction job because she got hurt at work and that she was taking depression medication, but that she had got drunk at a bar prior to the suicide attempt by drinking three beers and a shot of yagermeister. When she was asked how serious she was on jumping off the bridge she stated that she was very serious and all most did it several times during the negotiation. When asked why she agreed to be rescued she stated that when the primary negotiator stated that he genuinely cared about her and that he had not lied to her about anything, she stated that he gave her a feeling that maybe there was a reason to live. The following are some of the issues we faced at the scene.
There was a loose unified command combined with a fire chief, two lieutenants, three sergeants (Two of them as active negotiators) and one patrol sergeant.
Fire personnel placed a fire truck in view of the jumper with their code 3 lights on.
Several patrol officers who started out negotiating with the jumper at times attempted to talk to the jumper after the negotiation was turned over to the primary negotiator.
The negotiation of who was going to attempt the rescue between fire and police.
Equipment given (waist harness) to the police commanding officer which would cause the commanding officer to invert if the jumper began to struggle, along with no safety harness given to the rescuer to secure the jumper to his person.
Fire personnel dumping loud metal equipment directly behind the jumpers location.
People in vehicle prior to the blocking of the bridge yelling to the jumper to “JUMP”.
The jumper taking medication and drinking alcohol.
Limited “HOOKS” to get the jumper on a good conversation because she had never been married, no kids, no job, no money, lied to by many, hopeless etc.
The jumper feeling that the initial responding patrol female lied to her about bringing her coffee.
The jumpers location on the bridge which allowed no rescue equipment other then a climber to assist her.
Fire having a hard time locating some of their equipment.
The weather was extremely cold and the jumper was sitting on a one inch steel beam which she could have easily fallen off of.
Very minimal background information on the jumper and no relatives to contact for prior history.
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