Full Notification

HOLLISTER, CALIFORNIA – September 9^th, 2021 – The Hollister Police Department arrested a man after a standoff; the man had made calls of wanting to hurt himself and displayed a handgun.
 
On today’s date at about 6:38 a.m. a reporting party called Hollister Dispatch (SCR911) to report her brother had called her and made statements of contemplating suicide.  He requested her to alert the news media because he was going to do something and that he was at “peace”.
 
Officer Aguilera and Castro arrived at the front door area of the closed Kmart store, located on Tres Pinos Road, within a few minutes of the call and made contact with the 44 year old man.  Officers made contact with the man and he immediately brandished a handgun.  Officers requested additional units and advised responding officers the subject was now pointing the gun at his own head and at one time placed the muzzle into his mouth.
 
Additional officers and detectives from the Hollister Police Department and the San Benito County Sheirff’s Office arrived on scene and set up a containment perimeter around the man for the protection of the community.  Officers were concerned with the man walking toward other people or possibly charging at officers to provoke a shooting. 
 
Officers attempted contact with the man through the police vehicle’s loud speaker system.  The man was despondent and seemed to be rambling.  An officer obtained the man’s cell phone number and tried calling him.  However, he refused to answer the phone. 
 
The man then discharged his gun several times.  This allowed the police to determine that the weapon was a realistic looking CO2 Pellet gun and not a real firearm.  The man then armed himself with a large survival type knife.  He continued to pace back and forth.
 
During this time Officer Aguilera contacted the reporting party and other members of the man’s family to aid the police in resolving the situation peacefully.  Officers were able to contact a family member to speak to the man through a cell phone to try and get him to put the knife down.  The man did not put the knife down but he was now talking. 
 
The S.A.F.E. team consisting of Officer Esqueda and Mental Health Case Management Services Manager Nancy Abellera responded to the scene.  Officer Esqueda spoke with the man for a few minutes and he agreed to put the weapons down.  At 9:03 a.m., the man was taken into custody without further incident and transported to the hospital for a mental health evaluation.  Charges of brandishing weapons, delaying and resisting officers will be referred to the D.A.’s Office.
 
The Hollister Police Department would like to thank everyone who assisted in the peaceful conclusion of this incident.  We thank the Sheriff’s Office for their quick response and we especially want to thank our S.A.F.E. Team Officer Esqueda and Nancy Abellera for their great work. 
                                                                                                     
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Prepared by:  Ray Celano, Sergeant
Approved by:  Carlos Reynoso, Chief of Police