SANTA CRUZ — A 46-year-old man accused of holding police at bay during a more than five-hour standoff at Main Beach Monday is set to face criminal charges this week.
Santa Cruz officers were called to the water around 1 p.m. after police received numerous public complaints that the man, later identified as Jason Monroe of Lodi, was standing in the water while screaming, cursing and throwing rocks at nearby adults and children, said Santa Cruz Deputy Police Chief Jon Bush.
A non-lethal beanbag bounces off the chest of Jason Monroe holding a knife-shaped piece of wood during Monday’s standoff. The man laughed immediately afterwards and picked up the projectile that had been fired by a Santa Cruz police officer. (Shmuel Thaler – Santa Cruz Sentinel)
Jason Monroe gestures with a knife-shaped piece of wood to a Santa Cruz police officer while standing amongst the pilings of the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf on Monday. (Shmuel Thaler – Santa Cruz Sentinel)
Santa Cruz City lifeguards, far left and far right, ferry a pair of Santa Cruz police officers to the Harbor Patrol boat during Monday’s standoff. (Shmuel Thaler – Santa Cruz Sentinel)
Lifeguards and peace officers work to keep the situation calm and safe moments before Jason Monroe, with his hands raised, surrendered to Santa Cruz police on Monday after a five-hour standoff. (Shmuel Thaler – Santa Cruz Sentinel)
Jason Monroe who had been throwing rocks at visitors to Main Beach from the water, yelling and acting aggressively on Monday refuses to surrender. Santa Cruz Police officer Elliott Rock, top left, uses a megaphone from a harbor patrol boat to try to talk to him. Police closed parts of the wharf and Cowell and Main beaches during the hours-long standoff. After nearly 5 hours in the water the man surrendered to police on Main Beach and was arrested without incident. Monroe, 46, of Lodi, was still in Dominican Hospital Tuesday morning getting care for his injuries, and SCPD said that when released from the hospital he would be booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, resisting arrest/threatening an officer and induction of justice. (Shmuel Thaler – Santa Cruz Sentinel)
Jason Monroe is arrested on Main Beach on Monday after spending five hours in the Monterey Bay during a standoff with police. (Shmuel Thaler – Santa Cruz Sentinel)
Santa Cruz police made sure a mental health worker was on the scene to assist and advice during Monday’s standoff. (Shmuel Thaler – Santa Cruz Sentinel)
A seal swims by Jason Monroe during his standoff with police at Main Beach on Monday. (Shmuel Thaler – Santa Cruz Sentinel)
A Santa Cruz Police officer stands guard with a non-lethal beanbag rifle as a community service officer clears civilians from Main Beach on Monday. (Shmuel Thaler – Santa Cruz Sentinel)
Two Santa Cruz Police officers are ferried by a lifeguard to a Harbor Patrol boat during Monday’s standoff. (Shmuel Thaler – Santa Cruz Sentinel)
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A non-lethal beanbag bounces off the chest of Jason Monroe holding a knife-shaped piece of wood during Monday’s standoff. The man laughed immediately afterwards and picked up the projectile that had been fired by a Santa Cruz police officer. (Shmuel Thaler – Santa Cruz Sentinel)
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Officers attempted to get Monroe to surrender, but he allegedly instead began throwing rocks at emergency responders as well, Bush said. No one was struck or injured by any of the thrown rocks, he said. Monroe reportedly moved up and down the beach and both deeper and shallower in the water in the approximately five hours before he emerged shortly after 6 p.m.
Santa Cruz Fire Department swimmers and those manning the agency’s personal watercraft, in addition to the Santa Cruz Harbor Patrol, provided assistance at the scene but were not tasked with physically drawing Monroe out of the water. Officers, including a police dog, did not wade in either, Bush said, out of concerns for officers’ and Monroe’s safety.
In addition to a department crisis negotiator, police called in a mental health liaison. Officers also used less-lethal projectiles to strike Monroe, ultimately drawing blood on his face. Monroe was admitted to the hospital for care Monday, where he remained early Tuesday, as well, according to Bush.
The deputy police chief confirmed that an extensive amount of city resources were tied up during the hours-long standoff, but added that, “Ultimately, that paid off in the long run,” when it came to emergency personnel and the public’s safety.
Monroe was expected to be booked into the Santa Cruz County Jail upon his release from the hospital on suspicion of felony assault with a deadly weapon and threatening an officer, as well as misdemeanor resisting arrest, according to Bush.
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