Many citizens, including politicians in California, are upset that police. Why? Because they recently shut down Interstate 5 for eight hours while talking a man off the ledge of a bridge.

People are so mad that three state senators and four other local politicians wrote a letter airing their grievances. The letter was sent to Caltrans, the California Highway Patrol, and the San Diego Police Department, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

In it, they asked what their policies and procedures are for handling these types of incidents. The letter also requested additional details and the possibility of improved real-time communication with drivers.

Before the letter was sent, San Diego police expressed their understanding of everyone’s frustration with the 8-hour freeway shutdown. However, their main goal is “to ensure the safety of everyone involved.” The police also stated that if the situation occurred again, they would respond the same way.

“This incident happened to occur at one of the busiest times and in a very inconvenient location for diverting traffic,” police spokesperson Cesar Jimenez said in a statement. He added that “it was a perfect storm between timing, location, and the decision of the individual involved.”

‘Public safety’ is not a good enough reason, according to California politicians

That’s not good enough for the local and state politicians. In their letter, they cited three incidents, including the recent eight-hour closure of Interstate 5. They also noted a November closure of I-5 that lasted more than 14 hours, and a four-hour closure in October.

“In each case, public safety was the reason for the shutdown, and motorists experienced limited to no advanced notice, significant standstills and congestion with minimal information, and substantial downstream impacts,” the letter reads.

The 14-hour road closure in November ended with gunfire. In that case, a suspect, who CHP said was armed, was hiding in the center median for several hours. The four-hour freeway closure occurred because of a live-fire demonstration as part of the Marine Corps’ 250th birthday.

“Parents could not pick up kids from child care, people missed flights, workers couldn’t get to their jobs or get home from their jobs,” the letter continued.

Area residents voiced their displeasure with police shutting down the freeway

The San Diego Union-Tribune also published complaints from area residents about the latest freeway shutdown.

“While I fully respect the need for caution and compassion in mental health emergencies, the city and the Police Department must review and update policy on how such situations can be managed more efficiently,” one resident wrote. “One individual effectively held our city hostage for hours.”

“I found the police statements saying they would do the same thing in the same situation again wholly unsatisfying,” read another comment. “While I was happy to hear the man on the bridge came to no harm, there should be some acknowledgement that there may be better ways to handle situations like this.”

“The police are accountable to no one,” another resident complained. “The balance of public good is lost to the whims of these unimaginative, unaccountable authoritarians. Delays like this are commonplace, and will continue as long as this absolute power is unquestioningly tolerated.”