San Francisco police officers ended a roughly 16-hour stand-off early this afternoon with a 13-year-old autistic boy who police said was armed with a knife.
The teenager had barricaded himself in the garage of his home on Cumberland Street west of Dolores Park since 9:15 p.m. on Monday.
The stand off ended at 12:55 p.m. Minutes before officers walked the boy out with his hands in restraints, two loud pops followed by loud wailing could be heard. Officers had fired two nonlethal bean bag rounds at the boy before restraining him and escorting him out.
The ordeal began when officers responded to a report that a person had gotten into an argument with his family and and had locked himself in the garage at his family’s home. The teenager, police said, was armed with a knife, but Mission Station Captain Daniel Perea said the boy had not threatened himself or anyone else.
Shortly after noon on Tuesday, the SFPD’s bomb squad arrived at the home with a robot that could deliver items to the boy without making him feel threatened. Police confirmed there was no threat of any explosives.
“Our negotiators are speaking with this child. Given the situation, if he feels threatened by us coming close to him, we don’t want him to do anything irrational,” said Officer Carlos Manfredi during the standoff. “If he feels better knowing it’s a robot…he might be inclined to respond better.”
Perea said that during the stand off, officers were in communication with the boy’s parents and his therapist to discuss the best way to approach him.
“I’m thinking about it from the perspective of my children. He’s probably worried that he’s in trouble,” Perea said. “He only slept about five hours last night, he’s probably exhausted.”
Perea said officers were hoping to coax the boy out and get him to a medical facility to take time-sensitive medication, but that they were also trying to do so without triggering him.
“The more time we have to communicate with him, the more time we have to resolve this,” Perea said. “We’re just waiting it out.”
Neighbors, too, were watching the scene unfold.
“I’m here to stand up for the poor boy, he has a lot of problems,” said one neighbor.
Another neighbor was incredulous at the size of the police presence.
“I have a profoundly mentally ill son myself, but he is 29,” the neighbor said. “Teenage years are hard on everybody, you can imagine how hormones affect a boy with a disease that makes him incapable of processing feelings. Hormones affect these children, it’s part of the disease.”
Nearby resident Cheryl LaBrecque said she looked out her window around 9:30 p.m. and saw police activity, and that it had not stopped since then.
“It’s an unpleasant thing for his family. I could hear police officers negotiating with the boy in the middle of the night and he was very calm and patient,” LaBrecque said. “The family has mostly kept to themselves in the 13 years I’ve been here. This is very surprising for everyone and we wish the best for the family.”
This is a developing story and we will update when we have more information.
White kid?
Oh he is still alive? He didn’t get shot by the police? They didn’t want to “escalate the situation” and they decided to “wait it out” so I’m assuming he is White or Asian because they decided not to shoot him.
He is only 13 and autistic. I understand this situation. It’s truly heartbreaking.
There are good cops in this city. I know this. As far as the race, i dunno but kudos to oue police. We need to stir towards the right direction without hatred. It’s a win win situation and I truly hope the boy is now in good hands.
Kudos to the SFPD for ending the situation without deadly force or seriously harming anyone, but seeing the enormous presence of law enforcement and public safety personnel forces me to question if such services are truly under-staffed.