Death Valley Rangers Involved In Standoff With Suicidal Man

Death Valley National Park (CA)
Rangers Involved In Standoff With Suicidal Man

On the afternoon of Thursday, March 12th, Death Valley rangers received a “be on the lookout” (BOLO) message for an armed, suicidal man, dressed in a white bathrobe and driving a white Mercedes Benz, who had reportedly assaulted a family member with a knife in Los Angeles. The BOLO also noted that the man was believed to have at least one firearm in his possession, adding that he’d threatened to engage police in a pursuit and shootout. The man was spotted by an Inyo County deputy on Artists Drive Road, a one-way scenic loop road at the north end of Badwater Road within the park. While the deputy followed him, other officers and rangers closed off the road’s entrance and exit and evacuated visitors from the area, which was experiencing heavy visitation at the time. The man drove into the Artist’s Palette parking area, a dead-end parking area surrounded by steep embankments, and stopped there. The deputy was joined at the lot by rangers and two California Highway Patrol officers. The terrain permitted tactical advantages in that it enabled rangers and officers to locate secure, elevated positions with a clear view of the man and his car. There were no other vehicles in the lot at the time. The deputy was able to begin a dialogue with the man from a position of cover at the entrance to the lot. The man appeared to be very agitated, repeatedly alternating between backing up the car and stopping, then pulling forward and stopping. At several points during the standoff, the man said that his “life was over” and repeatedly asked the officers to “just shoot him.” At 7:30 p.m., about two-and-a-half hours into the standoff, the man finally surrendered and was taken into custody. He was booked into the Inyo County jail, but also faces additional charges in Clark County for the earlier assault. No weapons were found during the initial search of the Mercedes. Although the man was not injured, there was a good deal of blood in the car’s interior. It was impounded by Inyo County officers. Eight NPS rangers were involved in the incident.