Suicidal man rescued by helicopter

Sonoma County sheriff’s deputies rescued a suicidal man on the roof of a Graton residence after a three-hour standoff Wednesday, a sheriff’s sergeant said.

The 20-year-old man’s mother called the sheriff’s office around 4:30 p.m. to report her son was having mental health issues and was feeling suicidal. The man climbed to the peak of the roof of the three-story home in the 8600 block of Quail Haven Lane where he was drinking alcohol and taking muscle relaxants and anti-seizure medication, Sgt. Spencer Crum said.

The sheriff’s office’s hostage negotiation team responded and talked to the man while other deputies talked to the man’s parents about the medications he was using, Crum said.

A doctor on the negotiation team told deputies the man was at risk of becoming unresponsive and that respiratory failure along with a fatal fall from the roof was possible, Crum said.

After three hours of negotiating with the man he became semi-conscious and unable to resist because of his medical state. The sheriff’s helicopter Henry-1 responded and a 100-foot long line rescue from the helicopter was made around 7:45 p.m., Crum said.

The helicopter crew was able to get the man in a horse collar, lift him off the roof and onto the ground to a waiting ambulance, Crum said. He was taken to a hospital, treated for an overdose of medication and placed on a 72-hour mental health hold because of his suicidal statements, Crum said.

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