Man Atop Claremont Bank Believed to be Suicidal

A man believed to be suicidal was safe and in custody Sunday after spending hours on the roof of the California Bank and Trust in Claremont threatening to jump, police said.

A witness saw the man on the roof at 7:07 a.m. and called 9-1-1. Claremont officers found a man in his mid 40’s walking on the roof of California Bank and Trust at 102 Yale Ave.

Officers reported the man was actually on a second roof above the main roof which rises some six feet above the bank’s main roof. The main roof was about 25 feet above the ground, officials said.

“The subject was extremely agitated and stated that he wanted to kill himself by jumping off of the roof,” according to a news release issued by Claremont Sgt. David De Metz He refused to comply with the officers’ requests to come off of the roof.  “The Los Angeles County Fire Department responded and assisted officers by using multiple ladders to access the roofs.”

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Crisis negotiators spoke with the man for several hours but ran from officers and jumped down from the second roof onto the main roof where officers were. He was then taken into custody, officers said.

The man appeared to be depressed, may have been suffering from a mental illness. Officers suspected he had overdosed on prescription medications. He was taken to a hospital for evaluation.