The Los Altos City Council went into lockdown during its Tuesday, April 11, meeting after a man with a knife came to the Los Altos Police Department's parking lot, which is adjacent to the council chambers.
A 55-year-old Los Altos man experiencing a mental health crisis came to the police department's parking lot at around 10 p.m., leading the council to go into recess for roughly 35 minutes starting at 10:04 p.m., Public Information Officer Sonia Lee confirmed to the Voice in an email.
Los Altos police learned earlier that evening at 6:08 p.m. that an "at-risk" resident was missing and in possession of a knife, according to a police department press release. Officers were able to contact him and determined around 10 p.m. he was in the parking lot, the release said.
A city council meeting was taking place next door at Los Altos City Hall and was put on lockdown out of "extreme caution," according to the release.
In a YouTube recording of the council meeting, a police officer can be seen speaking to a city staff member, who then tells the council to go into recess "until further notice." The audio feed subsequently cuts out. The council, staff and police can be seen conferring. After several minutes, the council leaves the room. The video feed then also cuts out.
While the council went into lockdown, Los Altos police officers worked with the Mountain View Police Department's crisis negotiation team to deescalate the situation and were able to take the man into custody at about 10:30 p.m., according to the press release.
The man was treated at the scene for self-inflicted injuries, which Lee described as minor, and transported to an area hospital. No city employees, council members or members of the public were injured, police said. According to Lee, the man did not threaten anyone else with the knife and no criminal charges are expected in the case.
When the council reconvened at 10:39 p.m., City Manager Gabriel Engeland gave an update, noting that the individual had been taken into custody. After a brief discussion, the council decided to resume its meeting.
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