MIAMI BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) – Miami Beach Police officers and hostage negotiators spent several hours talking a man down from the sixth-floor ledge of a Lincoln Road hotel, early Monday morning, in a crisis intervention captured on body camera video.
Officers responded to the Citizen Hotel at 1200 Lincoln Road at approximately 2:52 a.m., after receiving a report of a man threatening to jump.
Upon arrival, officers found him pacing on the northeast ledge of the building’s sixth floor.
“You’re good bud, you’re not in trouble,” said a female officer.
Officers made multiple attempts to approach and engage the man, but he repeatedly told them to back away.
Working with hotel staff, officers gained access to his room, where they found two suicide notes. During negotiations, the man expressed a desire to speak with his father, who is deceased, citing the loss as a contributing factor to his actions.
At one point, body camera footage shows Dr. Noel Castillo, the department’s lead hostage negotiator, carefully getting into eyeshot of the man and sitting down in a pool chair as he begins talking to him.
“My name is Dr. Noel Castillo. I’m here to help you. I work for the city.”
Over the next several hours, Castillo gains the man’s trust.
“Do you want me to help you?” said Castillo.
The man in distress appears to invite Castillo to help him safely off the ledge.
“OK, I’m coming,” he said.
After several hours of coordinated efforts, the Hostage Negotiation Team successfully de-escalated the situation and brought the man to safety without injury.
“Our Hostage Negotiation Team along with our patrol officers literally talked a man off the ledge of a building,” said Miami Beach Police spokesperson Christopher Bess.
Miami Beach Police Chief Wayne Jones praised his team’s response.
“Our Hostage Negotiation Team is made up of highly trained professionals who specialize in de-escalation during the most critical moments,” Jones said. “Their ability to remain calm, build trust, and communicate effectively is a skill set that saves lives, and this outcome is a direct result of that expertise.”
Bess emphasized the video shows officers’ ability to use their words to diffuse dangerous situations.
“We are tasked to go out there, kick down doors and arrest bad guys. But a key component of our job is crisis de-escalation. Dr. Noel Castillo sat down, took his time, empathized to this male who was in crisis, which led to establishing that rapport and saving this guy’s life,” said Bess.
Miami Beach Fire Rescue evaluated the man on scene. He was placed into protective custody and transported to Mount Sinai Medical Center for further treatment.
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