A standoff with an “armed individual threatening to harm themselves and not complying with officers' commands” at Embarcadero and Brannan streets began just after noon Monday, and much of that area remained blocked off for hours.We first heard there was some sort of developing police activity ne ar the Embarcadero via a Reddit post at about 12 noon on Monday. By 12:30 pm, the SF Department of Emergency Management had a Twitter update saying “Avoid the area of Embarcadero and Brannan Streets due to Police Activity. Emergency crews are on scene. Expect traffic delays, consider alternate routes, and allow for additional travel time.”ALERTSF: Avoid the area of Embarcadero and Brannan Streets due to Police Activity. Emergency crews are on scene. Expect traffic delays, consider alternate routes, and allow for additional travel time. For live traffic information visit https: https://t.co/SEAzelKtHo— San Francisco Department of Emergency Management (@SF_emergency) January 5, 2026 That message, of course, fails to inform us of what this “police activity” is all about. But by 1:07 pm Monday, the SFPD was being a lot more explicit about what was going on.AVOID THE AREA: Officers are currently at Embarcadero/Brannan regarding an armed individual threatening to harm themselves and not complying with officers' commands. Our Hostage/Crisis Negotiation Team is on scene and working for a peaceful resolution. pic.twitter.com/ZEy9j4Yf2R— San Francisco Police (@SFPD) January 5, 2026 “Officers are currently at Embarcadero/Brannan regarding an armed individual threatening to harm themselves and not complying with officers' commands,” the SFPD announced just after 1 pm. “Our Hostage/Crisis Negotiation Team is on scene and working for a peaceful resolution.”NBC Bay Area identifies the suspect simply as “ a woman who is armed and not complying to commands.” KRON4 has some Citizen app video from the scene where officers are closing down streets, but it does not offer many insights to the standoff at hand.Obviously, Police officers themselves are also still trying to make sense of this situation. If you have any information on this incident, you’re asked to call the SFPD tip line at (415) 575-4444, or text a tip to TIP411 and begin the message with “SFPD.” Tipsters can remain anonymous. This is a developing story and will be updated.Related: Man Arrested Following Hours-Long Police Standoff After Barricading Himself Inside Palace Hotel [SFist]Image via Citizen App ...read more read less