Since I have had two inquiries about my posts, this response will address both.
Muss Muggins
I had been watching this incident as it developed. My wife and I were having a cup of coffee one night at Enrico Banducci's Coffee House on Broadway in San Francisco in the early 1980's. We could sit on the front patio and watch people passing by. At one point a number of young women passed by. By their dress, makeup and demeanor we gathered that they were probably entertainers from the numerous nightclubs in the area. As they passed a short black man followed closely and was verbally harrassing them in very vulgar terms. The women were ignoring him, but he was persistent. It was about this time that a Mercedes convertible with the top down stopped in the street and the anglo driver got out. He was about my size and weight, in other words medium height+ but muscular. He retrieved a motor cycle chain from behind the front seat (despite the great size disparity between him and the harrasser) and started to walk towards him. This low speed pursuit/stalk continued into a small parking lot surrounded on three sides by buildings, so a box canyon.
As this was evolving I told my wife I did not want to become involved, but I had no choice (more on that anon).
As I walked towards this confrontation I positioned myself on the flank and somewhat to the rear of the individual with the motorcycle chain (which was now wrapped around his hand/wrist). My intent was for him not to be aware of my presence until I announced it. I had not yet drawn my revolver. It was at this point that SFPD rolled up and I was no longer needed.
Why I had no choice:
1. My department (this was well before my retirement) had a policy that any off-duty member encountering any incident requiring LE intervention, regardless of jurisdiction, was required to take the appropriate action in a timely manner.
2. It was my belief, and I have had decades to review my decision, that had SFPD not rolled up and it was just me, had I not intervened, the small man would have at least been the victim of assault with a deadly weapon, and at worst murder. Regardless of my department's rules, had it only been at my discretion, I still would have intervened since such harm was imminent. I could not let that take place. That is who I am.
There was/is no question in my mind that I was well aware of all the relevant facts, and that time was now quickly running out.
As far as any speculation about a trip to the ER, I think my description of my approach and positioning is indicative of my planning and tactics. Worst case scenario; gun vs motorcycle chain, gun wins. I had been in countless tight spots in my career on duty, usually solo, and the only time I ever ended up in the ER was when an airborne full beer can struck my head during a riot.
Laketime,
The individual had only mentioned that he had been considering suicide, but without any statements that he so intended, and no overt acts. Under Ca Welfare & Institutions Code section 5150, that would not be sufficient for 72 hour mental detention. During my time of observation I saw nothing on his part that in my judgement would bring him under 5150 WIC. At most he was a suspicious person. If I or we had called the Sheriff's Department, the response time, if they agreed to respond to a suspicious person call with no overt acts, would be anywhere from 45 minutes to over two hours.
During my LE career, like any other LEO I had dealt with countless suspicious person and possible 5150 calls. If we did not have concrete facts we could use to support a 5150 hold the hospital would not accept such a patient. This individual was not 5150 during my or our observation. He may have been at some time prior, although the mention of having contemplated suicide would not have been enough, and he might have been 5150 at some later time, but not during our observation. Since I know a number of people in the Sheriff's Dept, had someone at their end found out I was present they would have asked to speak to me as this call would take a deputy well out of their populated area. The question to me would have been very direct; was this person 5150? I would then have had to state he was not, even with his having engaged me in conversation.
Since we are very isolated where we live, it is understood by us, and emphasized by the Sheriff's Dept, that we have to be self-sufficient absent factually obvious emergency circumstances.
Our county is 3200+ sq mi, all of it mountainous, all with two lane roads and no freeways. Our population is just under 14k. Our Sheriff's Department has nine deputies to cover this area 24/7. Unless there is something concrete to a call, they just don't have the personnel to respond.
