Salinas police negotiate peaceful end to standoff

A call from the girlfriend of a 24-year old man prompted a standoff Monday night, according to the Salinas Police Department. The woman reported that her boyfriend was in the cemetery behind a church and was suicidal.

Officers arrived and found the man sitting in the cemetery with a 5″ hunting knife to his throat, police said.

A crisis team member from Behavioral Health responded along with a patrol officer trained in crisis intervention. The officer contacted the man and maintained negotiations with him. After an hour, the man voluntarily put down the knife and surrendered without incident and no force was used.

He was uninjured and taken to a local hospital for mental health evaluation.

The same man forced a similar standoff in the exact same location in June 2014. In that incident, he held a knife to his throat and threatened suicide. That incident ended peacefully as well.