San Francisco police use cat to coax suicidal man down from ledge

Police turned to an unlikely source to help them talk to the man threatening to jump from a South of Market building. 

Photo: Lea Suzuki, The Chronicle

A Highway Patrol spokesman said the man had been stopped while driving a white Toyota Highlander that had no license plates and when a computer check showed that the car was stolen, the man jumped to his feet and ducked into the building.

Distraught, the man threated to jump as police pursued him. Police set up foam pads him and used trained hostage negotiators to try and coax the man away from the ledge. 

Photo: Lea Suzuki, The Chronicle

Photo: Lea Suzuki, The Chronicle

But after 3 unsuccessful hours, reinforcements arrived, but not in blue. He wore orange and white... and just so happened to be the man's cat. 

“Using the cat was ingenious,” said Officer Albie Esparza, a police spokesman. “Never underestimate the power of the love between people and their pets. I think it was great to think outside the box like the officers did. It made enough of an impact on this person to bring him down and come to his senses.”

Within 45 minutes after the cat's arrival, the standoff ended. 

Photo: Lea Suzuki, The Chronicle

Photo: Lea Suzuki, The Chronicle

"A common strategy in these situations is to call the family of the person in crisis, in hopes a loved one can talk them down," Esparza said.

The man’s family not only arrived to the scene to offer their love and support, they brought his cat to the scene, and officers took it up to the negotiators.

Shortly after 6 p.m., the man went back inside the building and the standoff was resolved.

“I don’t remember ever using a cat before, but it worked,” Esparza said. “The guy voluntarily came out of the window and opened the door and was taken into custody without incident.”

"The hostage negotiators establish a trust with the person, regardless if they are suicidal or a suspect, and you want to maintain that trust as much as you can. The guy wasn’t resisting. There was no need not to help him out. Obviously, he had a very emotional attachment to the cat and it was nice to comfort him as much as possible."

The officers even let him see his cat before he was taken off to jail. Never underestimate the power of the love between people and their pets.

via SFGATE