RIVERSIDE: Emergency negotiators help calm “violent and distraught” knife-wielding woman

RIVERSIDE — Members of Riverside PD’s Emergency Negotiation Team successfully calmed and detained a “violent and distraught” woman who locked herself inside a bathroom while armed with a knife, late Tuesday night, Jan. 16.

Officers and other emergency first responders were dispatched to the 4500 block of Tomlinson Avenue in Riverside about 11:50 p.m., after the woman, who officials did not identify, was armed with a knife locked herself in the bathroom.

After arriving in the area and confirming the upset woman was still armed with a knife and locked inside the bathroom, officials began planning how to safely resolve this situation, Riverside PD officials explained in a social media press release.

With Riverside Fire Department and American Medical Response medics staged nearby, officers formed a multi-faceted plan; including the possible use of less-lethal options to safely detain the distraught woman.

An on-duty emergency negotiator responded to the scene and eventually began talking with the woman.

“After a few minutes of negotiating, the female disarmed herself and opened the bathroom door,” said officials. Officers were then able to safely detain her without further incident.

Paramedics treated the woman at the scene for unspecified injuries before AMR medics transported her to a local hospital for further evaluation and treatment.

 

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Trevor Montgomery, who recently moved from Riverside County to Shasta County, runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for Riverside County based newspapers Valley News, The Valley Chronicle and Anza Valley Outlook as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident.

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations, including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center and Lake Elsinore Station, along with other locations.