Man Arrested After 2.5-Hour Standoff Inside Taco Bell: Petaluma PD

PETALUMA, CA — A man was arrested following a standoff Tuesday night inside the dining room of a Taco Bell restaurant.

The standoff at Taco Bell in the 400 block of East Washington Street near Lakeville Highway in Petaluma lasted 2 hours and 26 minutes, acting Petaluma police Sgt. Art Farinha said. It started shortly before 6:45 p.m. Tuesday when callers reported a man was trying to hit customers with a glass beer bottle.

Officers responded and confirmed Damion Eugene Grissom, 49, was holding the bottle and refused officers' commands to drop it, Farinha said.

As Grissom retreated to the dining area of the restaurant with the bottle still in hand, officers evacuated the restaurant.

At 7:10 p.m., the Petaluma Police Department issued a Nixle alert about the police activity and instructed the public to avoid the area of the Taco Bell.

"Officers attempted to communicate with Grissom, however, he positioned himself at a table in the dining area and he refused to converse with any of the officers on the scene," Farinha said.

Several members of the Petaluma Police Department’s Crisis Response Team —CRT— and Investigations Team responded. A crisis intervention specialist with the SAFE team was also summoned.

When further attempts to negotiate with Grissom were unsuccessful and he continued to sit at the table — still refusing to drop the glass bottle — police got a warrant for his arrest, Farinha said.

At 9:09 p.m. — 2 hours and 26 minutes after police arrived at the scene — Grissom tried to leave the restaurant while still holding the bottle.

Officers took this opportunity to grab Grissom and as he began to struggle with them, an officer disarmed Grissom of the beer bottle.

Another officer took Grissom to the ground and as they worked to put him in handcuffs, he continued to resist officers, Farinha said.

Once Grissom was in custody, police issued an update to the Nixle alert letting the public know the police activity had concluded.

Grissom was taken to a local hospital as a precaution. After he was medically cleared, he was booked into Sonoma County jail.

He remained in custody Wednesday without bail on arrest charges of parole violation, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, resisting arrest and committing a felony with prior felony convictions.