By Mike Hazlip—
An hours long standoff at a home near C-Bar-C Park on Wednesday was resolved peacefully after Citrus Heights police officers arrested a 48-year-old male subject.
A press release by the Citrus Heights police said the incident began just before 8 a.m. the morning of June 23, when calls came in reporting a man discharging a firearm indiscriminately in the 8200 block of Heritage Meadow Lane.
The release said officers responded to the residence where a witness at the scene told police the man was suicidal and had threatened to commit “suicide by cop.” The man reportedly pointed a weapon at officers before retreating into the residence.
Officers determined it was a mental health crisis, and a mental health clinician was dispatched to the scene along with a crisis negotiation team. The man was arrested after officers entered the residence just before 4 p.m., more than eight hours after the standoff began, the report said.
CBS13 reported the subject’s mother notified authorities that her son was experiencing a mental health crisis. The mother was able to leave the home before the situation escalated, according to a report by ABC10.
Police evacuated nearby homes and C-Bar-C Park after learning the man had access to “multiple firearms inside his residence,” the report said.
“Our mental health clinician and members of our crisis negotiations team worked tirelessly throughout the day to deescalate this tense situation and arrive at a peaceful resolution,” the report said.
The man, who was not identified in Wednesday’s news release, was arrested on charges of assault with a deadly weapon, brandishing a firearm, and discharging a firearm in a negligent manner, police said.
“Our goal in these difficult situations is to arrive at a peaceful resolution and connect the involved parties with the proper mental health professionals to get them the help they desperately need,” the release said.
Wednesday’s incident comes just days after Police Chief Ronald Lawrence outlined a commitment to use mental health workers to deescalate tense situations where possible, at a community meeting last week.
“The Citrus Heights Police Department works closely with our community to bring incidents such as this to a peaceful resolution whenever possible, and we thank our community for their support by evacuating or sheltering-in-place when we recommend,” Lawrence said in a prepared statement. “I could not be more proud of the professionalism, patience and empathy of our police staff who brought this crisis to a safe conclusion.”
