Two incidents where Benicia PD successfully defused situation
Photo: scene from the Second Street incident
Originally published as a Benicia Police Department Facebook post –
“In our line of work, decisions have to be made at all times. Sometimes they have to be made very quickly to avoid any harm to the public, ourselves and the suspects.
These decision-making skills proved to be important this weekend in two different cases.
One of them was when our dispatchers received a call from a distressed man saying that he has a knife and wants our officers to come to his home “with guns drawn” and making threatening statements. After assessing the situation further and talking to him by phone, the caller eventually agreed to come out of the house without a weapon. He was then taken to receive mental health assistance.
The second incident (pictures attached) happened at about 11:30 a.m. Saturday at a parking lot of a hotel on East Second Street.
One of our officers was walking toward a car for a vehicle violation when the suspect started to accelerate away from him. As another officer arrived, the suspect drove his car head on into the patrol vehicle. Fortunately the officer was able to pin the suspect’s vehicle to block him from leaving the area.
The officers saw him reaching for something in the car and gave him commands to put his hands up. He continued to refuse for a period of time, but ultimately was able to be taken into custody by our officers without further incident.
A loaded gun was later found by his car, and we also learned that he had a felony warrant for his arrest. (More info on this arrest can be found here: https://benicia.crimegraphics.com/2013/default.aspx)
We are glad that none of these incidents resulted in any injuries to anyone. Our officers go through continuous training, including de-escalation and other contemporary policing strategies. We are proud of our staff, and we are also grateful for the community support that has allowed us to continue providing good service to Benicia.”
