Safe surrender: Amid questions about Sacramento police’s use of force, officers quietly resolve tense situations

For months Sacramento police officers have fought the perception that they’re quick to use force over de-escalation tactics, especially when it comes to mentally ill subjects or individuals suffering a crisis. The controversy has repeatedly spilled into City Hall’s chambers since the July shooting of Joseph Mann made national news and resulted in a recent $719,000 settlement with the family.

Yet, on Sunday, February 19, the department’s rank and file managed to end two potentially volatile situations with despondent subjects in three hours—without anyone being hurt.

The first incident started around 10:57 a.m., when officers were called to the scene of a man trying to jump off a freeway overpass near Mack Road, according to online daily logs.

According to police, the man was seriously despondent and had climbed to a position where he could drop down into the traffic of Interstate 99. Responding officers implemented a crisis intervention plan as the California Highway Patrol shut down any lanes in danger. Sacramento officers spoke with the man for 30 minutes, logs state, eventually convincing him to climb down and allow them to transport him to a hospital.

Just after 1 p.m. that same afternoon, police converged on the 500 block of 18th Street in Midtown. The department said a man involved in a domestic dispute got agitated and started threatening to harm himself. Law enforcement databanks indicated he had a felony arrest warrant out of Nevada and might have access to a gun.

Rather than confront him, officers on-scene made contact by phone and started the lengthy negotiation process of convincing him to surrender. That happened after several hours, logs indicate.

Once he was taken into custody, the department confirmed no firearm was inside his residence, but did discover live ammunition, a Taser and an unspecified quantity of amphetamines. The man was arrested for his outstanding warrant, possessing the drugs and for being a felon in possession of a Taser and ammunition.

It wasn’t immediately clear how many potentially volatile situations are resolved this quietly, but the department sent a team of representatives to participate in a two-day course in New Orleans on defusing critical incidents back in December.