Two people, including a baby, were taken to the hospital Tuesday morning after a large emergency response in West Berkeley at Addison and Fourth streets, readers and authorities report.
Deputy Fire Chief Dave Brannigan said the call came in just after 6 a.m. A fire engine, fire truck, two medics and a battalion chief responded to the scene from the Berkeley Fire Department.
Brannigan said he was unable to share details of the call due to privacy laws protecting medical information.
According to unconfirmed reports on the scanner, numerous people called authorities after a young woman several floors up, in an apartment at Addison and Fourth, was heard screaming “help” and “let me go.” She was initially reported to be “hanging out of the window.”
Numerous pedestrians said they were concerned about the woman’s safety and intentions. There were also concerns about an infant in the apartment who could at times be seen with the woman from the street. BPD sent in a negotiator and blocked off traffic on Addison.
One tipster said he saw four fire vehicles and 11 police cars at Addison and Fourth streets, along with “a blocked off area going down Addison from Fourth.”
A second person said there were at least 15 emergency vehicles on scene.
At about 7:30 a.m., one reader described the “huge police presence” and asked Berkeleyside to find out what was happening.
By about 7:40 a.m., according to scanner traffic and reader reports, authorities were able to make direct contact with the woman and confirm that a baby in the home appeared to be all right.
Readers said first responders were on scene until about 8:15 a.m.
Update, 10:15 a.m. Officer Byron White, a Berkeley police spokesman, confirmed that multiple callers reported “a person yelling from their 3rd floor apartment window” in the 2000 block of Fourth. White said the person was threatening to jump from their window and had a baby inside.
In addition to the regular patrol response, Crisis Intervention Team officers and several negotiators from the Special Response Team “spent the next hour or so speaking through the door of the apartment with the person in distress. After much discussion, officers were able to convince the person to come out of the apartment.”
Both the person in distress and the baby were taken to local hospitals for medical evaluation.
White said the gender and age of the distressed person could not be released due to medical privacy laws. The person’s relationship to the baby was also not released.
White said some access to surrounding streets and sidewalks were temporarily restricted during the incident.
“The Berkeley Police Department would like to thank the community for their patience during this incident and give thanks for helping us bring this situation to safe conclusion,” White said.
Alameda County offers a 24-hour suicide hotline for those needing assistance. It can be reached at 800-309-2131. The national suicide hotline can be reached at 800-273-8255.
