Tuesday, October 7th, 2008

Man coaxed off Chabad House roof after threatening to commit suicide

A man attempting suicide by jumping off the roof of Chabad House early Monday morning was successfully coaxed down thanks to a group effort by local law enforcement.

Los Angeles Police Department Sergeant Christian Hansen said the individual called his mother in San Francisco once he was already on top of the Chabad House at roughly 6:30 a.m.

He reportedly told her that he was depressed and wanted to jump to his death.

“We came, and he was on the roof,” Hansen said.

Chabad House, a Jewish community center that also houses a synagogue, is a four-story high ex-fraternity house across from the UCLA campus near the intersection of Gayley and Le Conte avenues.

According to the house’s Web site, it is “a center opened to all people, open 24 hours a day.” The site adds that it is a place for gathering and seeking counseling.

Soon after the individual placed his call, the fire department arrived with two air mattresses, roughly two ladder trucks and three other engines.

University police and the West L.A. Division of LAPD intervened as well.

The street area surrounding Le Conte Avenue was blocked off temporarily, and a command post was set up, Hansen said.

Two officers who were part of a Crisis Intervention Team, Rich Alcala and Alan Parra, stayed on the roof counseling the individual until he agreed to come down with them at about 8 a.m.

The Crisis Intervention Team is part of a program introduced where the federal government trains officers specifically to deal with the mentally ill.

Once down, the man was taken by fire fighters to the UCLA hospital.

The man is set to be on hold at the hospital for two weeks.

According to Hansen, people who threaten suicide are usually kept at the hospital for only 72 hours, and it is unusual for someone to be under supervision for longer.