Man in Police Standoff Killed Himself, Coroner Says

A man found dead last week in the charred remains of an Echo Park home after holding police at bay for 12 hours committed suicide, Los Angeles coroner’s officials said Tuesday.

The man, believed to be Paul Jacobson, 40, “died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head,” said Lt. Dan Aikin of the coroner’s office.

LAPD investigators were still trying to determine whether Jacobson or flash-bang grenades fired by police caused the fire, which gutted the house in the 1600 block of Lucretia Avenue, Sgt. John Pasquariello said.

The incident began at 6:30 a.m. Thursday, when the man called 911 to report an attempted burglary. When officers arrived, they heard shots, Pasquariello said, and the man did not believe they were real officers. The man fired shots at SWAT officers at least twice, Pasquariello said.

Throughout the day, crisis negotiators, an LAPD psychologist, the man’s girlfriend and his lawyer were brought to the scene to coax him out of his house, Pasquariello said.

Authorities had evacuated about 100 neighbors when the fire began about 5 p.m.