SANTA CLARA — An attempt to serve an arrest warrant Saturday turned into a standoff that lasted several hours and ended when police used chemical agents and the barricaded suspect surrendered, police said.
Santa Clara Police Lt. Cuong Phan said Sunday that officers arrived at the 1100 block of Civic Center Drive at about 7:15 p.m. on reports of a domestic incident inside a residence.
When officers arrived, Phan said, they did a history check and discovered the man had warrants for his arrest. Phan said the man’s docket showed warrants for resisting arrest and battery on a peace officer, but he did not have details of those events.
When they attempted to arrest the man, he barricaded himself inside the residence, Phan said. The man made suicidal statements, which elevated the incident from a criminal investigation to a mental health crisis, Phan added.
Police activated the county mobile crisis unit and the department’s crisis negotiation team, including an armored vehicle, Phan said.
At about 9:30 p.m., police said in an online post that a trained negotiator was attempting to get a peaceful surrender of the suspect. Phan said police used chemical agents on the residence after about five hours of communication.
“Once we introduced the chemical agents, it had its desired outcome and he came out within minutes,” Phan said.
By 11:20 p.m. the standoff had ended peacefully and the man was in police custody, Phan said. He was being held for a psychiatric evaluation.
