By Carolyn Sackariason
Daily Press Staff Writer

OCEAN PARK — Police swarmed this neighborhood Thursday night, closing down several blocks for more than five hours after receiving a call that a resident home by himself was despondent.

About 20 police cars — both marked and unmarked — as well as an armored Humvee, were lined up along Hill and Sixth streets. Dozens of Santa Monica patrol officers, traffic services personnel, and SWAT and crisis negotiation teams were stationed along the 2700 block of Hill Street, waiting for a 47-year-old man to come out of his house, which he finally did shortly before 2 a.m.

The man was taken to a local hospital for a psychological evaluation.

“It looked like Homeland Security had come to roost,” said a resident, who asked to remain anonymous. “The last time I saw an operation like this was when I lived in Spain during the last years of Franco.”

The incident began at 8:19 p.m., when a friend of the man called police dispatch, saying the resident was despondent and could possibly injure himself. Apparently the man, who is described by his neighbors as energetic and outgoing, was upset over personal relationship problems.

But when officers arrived to check his status, he wouldn’t answer the door or repeated phone calls made by police.

That’s when law enforcement set up a perimeter with police tape at Fourth and Hill streets, Sixth Street and Ocean Park Boulevard, and closed many streets in between. Then they called in reinforcements, which is standard operating procedure, according to SMPD Lt. Frank Fabrega.

“When we deal with a person that is despondent, their mental state is very fragile and we have no way of knowing what will happen so we will use all the resources necessary to bring an incident to a peaceful resolution,” Fabrega said.

In an attempt to communicate with the man, officers from the crisis negotiation team used a PA system, which echoed throughout the neighborhood. The residents said police were asking the man to pick up their phone calls, or at least let them know he was OK by flickering his lights on and off.

Despite that their neighborhood was overrun with officers for several hours, many of the residents said the scene was very calm and quiet. However, they said it was difficult to ascertain what was happening because police were unsure at the beginning.

“They were very mysterious, saying it could be a hostage situation and to stay away for our own safety,” recalled a resident, adding that dozens of people had congregated outside watching the events unfold. “They made it clear that we should expect gunfire.”

A few residents said officers were dressed in full riot gear and carried large rifles. They also advanced the Humvee closer to the man’s house, residents said. Many thought that it was a training drill based on the number of personnel and weapons they saw.

“From a sociological view, it was very weird,” said the resident. “They were extremely polite but extremely militaristic.

“It was really overkill ... This is not what I would call Neighborhood Centered Policing.”

Fabrega said any time members of the crisis negotiation team or the SWAT team are deployed, there has to be proper personnel to back them up. He added that the reason the Humvee — which one resident described as a “tank” — was used is that it simply transports the crisis negotiation and SWAT teams, and gives them adequate protection in case the situation escalates.

Fabrega said whenever someone’s life is threatened the police will do whatever it takes to bring the situation to a peaceful resolution.

“Each case is unique and each one has a possibility of having a tragic outcome,” he said. “People of Santa Monica expect their law enforcement to respond and provide that level of service.”

Jodi Summers, who lives on Hill Street and is a Santa Monica Daily Press real estate columnist, said she was not expecting that level of service, but certainly appreciated it.

“The Santa Monica Police Department was very professional, very impressive and very respectful of the neighborhood,” she said. “I felt safe and well protected.”

Another resident, who lives nearby and knows the man in question, said she was extremely concerned about him, especially because the incident was at a standstill for so long. She described him as “really cool, outspoken, talks to his neighbors all of the time and has killer barbecues.”

She watched until nearly 2 a.m. before police left the area. She never saw her neighbor come out of his house.

“The police in Santa Monica just go overboard, they had all of this stuff,” she said. “In Santa Monica, you do get scared, because you are like ‘what the f--k is going on?’ It was nerve racking.”

Kal Eissa, another area resident, was entertained by the spectacle enough to videotape it with an 8-millimeter camera.

“It was hilarious. I hope they do it again tonight,” he joked.

Other residents questioned the time and resources the SMPD put into the incident, believing it had to have cost thousands of dollars.

Fabrega said he couldn’t estimate how much the incident cost, but the response was necessary.

“Human life is priceless,” he said.