An hours-long standoff on top of a Sonoma County Transit bus near Santa Rosa Junior College stretched from yesterday into this morning, after a man climbed onto the vehicle’s roof and refused to come down. Police cleared the bus, shut down the busy intersection of Mendocino and McConnell avenues, and spent the night working out the safest way to end the ordeal. Authorities reported that no one was injured.
Overnight standoff near SRJC
According to a social media update from the Santa Rosa Police Department, officers were called to the intersection around 9:21 PM after a rider repeatedly dialed 911 for help, CBS San Francisco reports. When officers arrived, they evacuated the bus and shut down the surrounding streets as they tried to talk with the man perched on the roof.
Officers relied on de-escalation
Police told reporters they leaned on de-escalation tactics instead of force as they weighed how to get the man down safely, according to NBC Bay Area. Through the night, officers kept offering assistance and focused on avoiding harm to the man, nearby residents, passersby and first responders.
How it ended and the charges
Shortly before 7 AM today, the hours of negotiation finally paid off when the man climbed down from the bus on his own and was taken into custody without injury. Santa Rosa police identified him as 47-year-old Byron Poindexter of Pittsburg, according to CBS San Francisco. He was arrested and booked into the Sonoma County Main Adult Detention Facility on suspicion of being under the influence of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Transit disruption and community safety
The intersection near Santa Rosa Junior College remained blocked off as officers managed the scene and escorted passengers from the bus, and the closure stayed in place until the situation was resolved, NBC Bay Area says. City and transit officials had not yet provided additional details on service impacts at the time of reporting.
