Officers Go Online to Save Suicidal Man

A 22-year-old man who threatened to kill himself after a cyber-romance went sour was lured out of his home and away from his guns by police who used the Internet to pose as a woman offering a chance for new online love.

A faked proposition to meet for coffee at an all-night restaurant brought the unidentified man out of his home and into the custody of police, who were waiting outside after a woman reported the man’s online suicide threat at 2:24 a.m. Sunday, police said.

The man was taken to a crisis intervention center for evaluation and 72-hour supervision, and police seized two guns inside his home, Fountain Valley Police Sgt. Paul McInnis said.

“It was interesting, like nothing we’ve had before, that’s for sure,” Lt. Dann Bean said. “It’s a sign of the times.”

The odd online drama unfolded after a woman called police to say she was signed onto the Internet and exchanging messages with a suicidal man in a chat room. The man was angry that he had been rebuffed by a woman in Australia who had shared an online relationship with him and had promised marriage.

Officers went to the man’s home, but decided it was unsafe to confront him because his online threats included a promise to kill himself if he saw officers. Their efforts to call him also failed because his phone line was being used by his computer modem.

The only remaining strategy: go online. A police supervisor and a female dispatcher signed onto the Internet, accessed the chat room and monitored the man’s conversation. Then the dispatcher asked questions about the man and suggested they meet--a ruse that delivered him safely into custody.

“It’s definitely a strange one, but this is the future, I guess,” Bean said.