By Lookout Staff

March 21, 2022 -- A suicide attempt shut down the California incline Monday afternoon when a motorist threatened to kill himself on the pedestrian bridge.

The incident began ar around 1:15 p.m., when a man armed with a kitchen knife abandoned his car on the coastal highway and climbed the bluffs onto the bridge.

The man called dispatch "stating that he is suicidal," said Lt. Rudy Flores, the Police Department spokesman.

SMPD's Crisis Negotiation Team arrived at the scene and was able to convince "the distraught male to toss away the knife," Flores said.

The Los Angeles Fire Department also arrived on the scene and deployed their air mattress, Flores said.

As of 5 p.m., the man remained on the bridge and the Cal Incline was completely shut down in both directions. Police are asking the public to stay out of the area.

Santa Monica public spaces have been the site of multiple suicides in recent years.

The last one took place last May when a man jumped to his death from a freeway overpass ("Man Leaps from Freeway Overpass Marking 3rd Public Suicide This Year," May 13, 2021).

Two other public suicides took place early when the victims jumped from parking structures at Santa Monica Place mall.

In 2020, there were five public suicides in Santa Monica. There have been none so far this year.