CHP crisis negotiators helped resolve Wednesday's Bay Bridge standoff: 'You need to build trust'

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- We're learning more about an incident on the Bay Bridge that snarled Wednesday evening's commute for hours.

California Highway Patrol said a man suffering a mental health crisis made his way onto the span, climbing between the upper and lower decks. ABC7 News spoke with one of CHP's crisis negotiators about how the incident was handled.

It was a chaotic situation on the Bay Bridge when a man wearing a mask was walking and climbing on the outside of the bridge for several hours.

"An individual was on the side of the railing. This situation takes time. We don't want to rush it," said Captain Elliotte Johnson from the California Highway Patrol.

Johnson was on scene, acting as one of the crisis negotiators communicating with the individual who was experiencing a mental health crisis.

RELATED: All lanes reopened after hours-long police standoff on Bay Bridge; subject in custody, CHP says

"We had lengthy conversations with this person who just needed someone to talk to. We're trained in crisis intervention," Johnson said.

Johnson said for a time, they couldn't see the man because he was walking beneath the lower deck, so they closed lanes on the north and south side of the bridge as a buffer, keeping center lanes open to traffic.

"We want to build a rapport with the individual. That's what we did. Rapport takes time, right? They don't know us. They don't know me or the other officers, so you need to build trust," Johnson said.

The standoff ended peacefully after 7 p.m. with the man willingly leaving the bridge and being taken to a mental health facility.

But damage was done for thousands of commuters in traffic. People sounded off with their frustrations on social media.

TAKE ACTION: Get help with mental health issues

"Ultimately, we were able to assist this man. It took time. I know traffic was impacted, but we got this person off the bridge," Johnson said.

In 2023, there was a similar situation on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, where a man refused to come off the bridge for 17 hours. He, too, was suffering a mental health episode. Traffic was impacted as far as San Francisco.

First responders say preventing these situations is almost impossible but negotiating a safe ending is always the goal.

"Yes it ended peacefully, I'm excited about that," Johnson said.