Earlier this morning, 27 year old Joseph Sherlock made a call into the suicide hotline informing the respondent that he was feeling suicidal. Sargent A. Grossi of the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department confirmed that while Sherlock was on the phone with the hotline he mentioned that he wanted to commit suicide by cop. He then provided the hotline with the address of an ex-girlfriend’s residence that was located on Van Buren St. in Grand Terrace.
Deputies received the call around 10 am and were able to create a plan and execute it within minutes. The Sheriff’s Department approached the residence with caution although fire arm ready for any possible situation. Terrace Hills middle school is located within close proximity of Van Buren Street. Due to the seriousness and the safety measures being taken with the events, the middle school was placed on a temporary lockdown as a precautionary measure. The safety of the students, neighboring residents and the residents of the home were the top priority for the Sheriff’s Department.
The occupants of the home were not aware of the situation at the time. The brother of the ex-girlfriend mentioned that he heard the chopper and the PA being announced. However, he was not able to make it out that the Sheriff’s Department was announcing his family home. The Sheriff’s Department was using the PA to ask the occupants of the home to come outside and make contact with the deputies.
Once the family came outside the Sheriff’s Department conducted a welfare check of the home to ensure that Sherlock was not there. Upon making contact with the Deputies it was noted that Sherlock had not been at that residence in months. Sherlock was in a relationship with one of the daughters of the residence. The daughter had hid the relationship for about a year. However, Sherlock’s suicidal threats became too much for the daughter to handle and she broke off the relationship with him about six to seven months ago.
Since the breakup Sherlock has continued to attempt contact with the daughter. He has continued with the suicidal threats to her and trying to reconcile the relationship. The police have been contacted before by Sherlock to conduct a “Keep the Peace” call. Sherlock was attempting to obtain property from the ex-girlfriend that he had left in her car.
According to Mr. Rasso, the father of the ex-girlfriend who is also a Safety Officer for a school district and a former Deputy Sheriff, Sherlock “is one of those mental, you know, story persons that want people to feel sorry for him. He wants an easy hand out.” Rasso stated “We are not bad people and this is the second time this has happened and I’m tired of it.” He feels embarrassed, bitter, and that his family is being affected by Sherlock’s actions. Sherlock has been known to walk around the town of Grand Terrace as he has no other means of transportation. He is currently homeless but has family located in Riverside and Moreno Valley. Sherlock has yet to have been located and the location of the call has not been confirmed.
With the gun violence that has been spreading through our nation the community and its residents of Grand Terrace are grateful and appreciative to the Sheriff’s Department on how they handled this situation. The Deputies response time was amazing. Once they received the call they responded within minutes and with quantity. At least a dozen squad cars responded to the location that was given. The community is certainly impressed and even more comforted knowing that their local law enforcement is ready and prepared to handle situations like this.