Suicide Attempt Through Gas Inhalation

LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT
PRESS RELEASE
Thursday, October 8, 1998
On October 8, 1998, at approximately 7:50 a.m., Officers Michael Lopez, and Corey Dillard, received a radio call of a possible attempt suicide at 7200 Franklin Blvd. The comments of the call indicated that the person who called the police could smell gas coming from the apartment where the possible suicide victim lived. While en route to the location, the officers requested that both the fire department and the gas company respond to the location to assist.

As Officers Lopez and Dillard arrived at the location, Officers Paul McGlaughlin, Michael Terrazas, Cynthia Tapia, and Margarita Sanders arrived as back up. The officers then interviewed Mina Slappery, the property manager of the apartment building and the person who called the police. She told the officers that she could smell gas coming from apartment 108 and that she was afraid that the person inside was trying to commit suicide. The officers immediately formulated a plan to make entry and rescue anyone who was inside the apartment.

Knowing the potential for a gas explosion and the danger to their own safety, the officers, utilizing a pass key from Slappery, made entry into the location to look for any victims.

Officers then made a search of the apartment and found one person unconscious in the living room. Officer Lopez determined that the person was still alive. Officers Dillard and Sanders pulled the victim out of the apartment to a safe location and monitored her status until the rescue ambulance arrived while Officers Tapia and Terrazas searched the apartment for additional victims. Meanwhile, Officers Lopez and McGlaughlin located the source of the leak and turned it off.

The victim was taken to Cedars Sinai hospital where she was treated for gas inhalation.

For further details contact Sergeant Vinson, Hollywood station at 213-485-4302.

For Release 2:40 pm PST
October 8, 1998