Suicidal man hangs self but
September 25, 2015
By Peggy Kelly
Santa Paula News
A suicidal man with a knife who tried to hang himself in front of Santa Paula Police was saved Tuesday by the quick action of officers.
According to SPPD Sgt. Ken Clark, the September 22 incident started at approximately 4:05 p.m. when SPPD Officers “received a call of a suicidal subject in the 300 block of Tirre Court,” south of West Santa Ana Street and west of South Steckel Drive near Teague Park.
Clark said the person that called police said the man “was standing outside in the front of the residence threatening to kill himself,” and holding a knife.
When SPPD Officers arrived the man was no longer outside the home and police were told the man with the knife had gone inside the residence but was unsure if the man was still holding the weapon.
When officers went to the front door they made contact with the man who Clark said, “was at the top of the stairs inside the residence. Officers attempted to talk the subject into coming down and speaking with them,” but suddenly the man jumped from the top of the stairs and “was hanging by a belt he had strapped around his neck.”
Officers “immediately took action — one officer ran up the stairs to cut the belt while two other officers grabbed the subject and lifted him up.”
Once they had the man down Clark said they were able to subdue him and “keep him from harming himself further…”
The man was transported to Santa Paula Hospital “as a precautionary measure” and for treatment of superficial wounds he had inflicted on himself prior to the officers’ arrival.
Clark said after the man was released from Santa Paula Hospital he was taken to Ventura County Mental Health for evaluation.
“It was great teamwork, a heroic act,” on the part of officers said Police Chief Steve McLean.
The man that attempted to hang himself weighs about 200 pounds, which would have made it difficult for bystanders to come to his aid by holding him up while another person cut through the belt he was using to hang himself.
Said McLean of the SPPD Officers, “There’s no doubt they saved that man’s life…”
