A former police detective was taken into custody after he shot at armored vehicles from inside his Pleasant Hill home early Saturday on the third day of a standoff between him, a SWAT team and crisis negotiators, police said.
Chunliam Saechao barricaded himself in his home Thursday after shooting his wife when she tried to get inside through a barricaded garage door, according to police. She was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and later released.
Just before 8 a.m. Saturday — more than 36 hours after police first arrived at Saechao’s home — he willingly exited the house and surrendered to an FBI SWAT team, according to Pleasant Hill police.
Police said Saechao would be booked into a local jail on suspicion of several felonies, including assault with a deadly weapon and attempted homicide on a police officer.
Throughout the standoff, Saechao had been active on X, formerly known as Twitter, with posts leaning into far-right conspiracies and, police said, indicating he is in a mental health crisis.
Police responded to his posts throughout the standoff, at one point saying: “It’s the police department, please answer our calls. We want to help you through this peacefully.”
After responding to the initial event Thursday, officers left the scene after several hours of trying to make contact with Saechao, they said.
Pleasant Hill police said they remained in the area and continued to monitor for safety threats despite leaving Saechao’s home. Officers returned to the scene Friday night after investigating, gathering information from his social media and issuing a felony warrant for his arrest.
During the standoff, police shut down several roads in the area and ordered nearby residents to shelter in place for over more than 12 hours as they tried to negotiate with Saechao via telephone and loudspeaker, authorities said.
At one point, Saechao fired several rounds at armored police vehicles parked outside his house using both a rifle and a shotgun, police said. No officers were injured. After Saechao was arrested, police reopened local roads and lifted the shelter in place order.
“We acknowledge this prolonged and serious event caused great disruption and stoked fear within the Sherman Acres neighborhood and the surrounding community.
De-escalation tactics, including disengagement, are routinely utilized in hope for peaceful resolutions, such as this one,” the Police Department said in a statement Saturday afternoon.
“We are relieved that the tactics employed led to a peaceful resolution, avoiding any bodily injuries or fatalities to members of law enforcement or the surrounding community.”
