Orange County — A 64-year-old woman is undergoing evaluation after a tense standoff on a busy Houston freeway ended peacefully, thanks to the efforts of a crisis negotiator. The incident, which unfolded in front of tens of thousands on social media, began when the woman deliberately crashed her car into a truck and then sat on a lawn chair with a gun pointed at her head.
Sergeant Jake Rigsby of the Orange County Sheriff’s Office explained the importance of listening and building rapport in such situations. “Being a listener and listening to the individual’s problems, listening to what they have to say and building a rapport with that individual, and then once we can build that rapport then we can safely talk them down and try to end the situation peacefully,” he said.
The woman, who was experiencing a mental health crisis, eventually embraced the negotiator who helped save her life. “It just feels really good when you can see success stories like that,” said Rigsby.
Rigsby, a crisis negotiator with five years of experience, shared another success story from a month ago when a man threatened to jump off the Rainbow Bridge. “We all put our heads together and we were able to successfully talk that individual down, and he was able to get the help that he needed and everybody went home safely,” he said.
All law enforcement officers undergo a state-mandated 40-hour crisis negotiation training course, which includes practicing communication, active listening, and de-escalation tactics. Rigsby demonstrated a training exercise called “back to back,” where officers role-play as a person in crisis and a negotiator.
The main goal, Rigsby emphasized, is to ensure “everyone goes home safely,” as was the case with the woman on Thursday. He advised those experiencing a mental health crisis to call a mental health crisis hotline or reach out to law enforcement for assistance.